Growing consumer interest in healthy eating is having a significant impact on dairy department sales strategies, industry executives said.

With more consumers reading labels, merchandisers must clearly communicate such elements as protein quantity and sugar levels while also making shopping easier through shelf signage that identifies a product's functional benefits, said Paula Deambrossi, senior vice president, strategic intelligence, for Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), a Rosemont, Illinois-based trade association.

"Consumers are paying closer attention to what is in their food and beverages from ingredient lists to perceived levels of processing," she said. "Foods viewed as natural and inherently nutrient rich are gaining traction."

Protein in particular is becoming a central focus for a broader group of consumers, including those focused on weight management, said Vincent Dickinson, senior category manager, frozen food and dairy, for The Save Mart Companies, a Modesto, California-based operator of approximately 200 Save Mart, Lucky and FoodMaxx stores throughout California and Western Nevada.

The protein content in cottage cheese is making the item one of the most dynamic parts of the dairy department after a long-term decline, said Michelle Houston, Save Mart senior category manager, dairy and deli. "That kind of shift tells you the category is not being reinvented from scratch but reinterpreted through a new consumer lens," she said.

Shopper spending for protein-rich options is migrating to dairy from other store departments as more customers add high-protein milk and yogurt to their routines, Dickinson said. He pointed to a specific indicator that will confirm the trend's durability. "A signal that the behavior is sticking and not cycling will occur when demand reaches a point where such products as ultra-pasteurized and high-protein milk are consistently under supply pressure," he said.

Price sensitivity also continues to shape consumer behavior, Deambrossi said. "Shoppers are shifting more purchases toward value-oriented retailers in such categories as milk, cheese and yogurt, with club stores seeing the largest share gains," she said.

That sensitivity will push some cost-conscious shoppers to make fewer dairy purchases altogether, Dickinson said. "The winners will be the products that can deliver function, relevance and value at the same time," he said.

Dairy, however, will remain one of the most habitually visited areas of the store as the definition of value changes, Houston said. "Shoppers are looking for products that work harder for them, whether that means more protein, greater convenience or a format that fits into a faster routine," she said. "We are seeing that most clearly in yogurt, cottage cheese and drinkable dairy, where protein has moved from a nice-to-have benefit to something customers actively expect."