MADISON, Wis. — With more people bringing the party home this year, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin projects that over 20 million pounds of cheese will be consumed by fans while watching the NFL’s signature event. That’d be 1.7 million wheels of cheese—enough to fill the entire playing field of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay with a football field size cheese board, and all other NFL stadiums nationwide, without any room for the lineup of charcuterie, crackers or other snacks. Overall in 2020, cheese sales jumped 13% as Americans bought more cheese last year than any other year.
Recent Google trends data revealed the most popular big game snacks by state, and 28 states (or 56%) named a dish that included cheese—from tacos to dips and cheeseballs to charcuterie boards.
“Cheese has always been a game day staple, but this year, we are seeing record-breaking cheese sales and a huge increase in game day recipe searches,” says Suzanne Fanning, Chief Marketing Officer for Wisconsin Cheese and Senior Vice President at Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. “The desire for recipes with cheese—the ultimate comfort food—coupled with the continued craze for charcuterie boards, ensures that cheese will be the real winner of the Big Game.”
America’s appetite for cheese continues to grow and Wisconsin specialty cheese sales are currently outpacing the entire category.
“Many of our state’s cheesemakers have added extra shifts and secured extra space to accommodate all the orders—not to mention adapt their businesses to accommodate the sudden jump in online cheese orders from consumers across the country,” says Kirk Scott, Senior Vice President of Dairy Company Communications at Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.
“We are planning to triple our fulfillment capacity in the coming months,” says Ken McNulty, owner of Wisconsin Cheese Mart. “We saw a huge increase in our online sales thanks to shifting customer demand and the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin’s continuing marketing efforts.”
Wisconsin cheesemakers have the same sense of pride and passion for what they do as some of the world’s best athletes, taking home more cheese awards than any other state or country year after year. Much like Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady, Wisconsin cheesemakers are the best of the best, all bearing a license to make cheese – a requirement that is unique only to Wisconsin. The elite few also go through over 10 years of rigorous hands-on training to become Wisconsin Master Cheesemakers, a title only given to just over 90 cheesemakers in the 27 years since the esteemed program began.
No matter what team you’re cheering for this Sunday, get things started with a strong starting lineup, including a cheese board, beer and cheese pairings, game day recipes and much more at WisconsinCheese.com.
About Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin: Funded by Wisconsin dairy farmers, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin is a non-profit organization that focuses on marketing and promoting Wisconsin’s world-class dairy products. For more information, visit our website at WisconsinDairy.org.
About Wisconsin Cheese: The tradition of cheesemaking excellence began more than 150 years ago, before Wisconsin was recognized as a state. Wisconsin’s 1,200 cheesemakers, many of whom are third- and fourth-generation, continue to pass on old-world traditions while adopting modern innovations in cheesemaking craftsmanship. For more information, visit WisconsinCheese.com or connect on Facebook.
