A PROTEIN-HEAVY food popularized during the 1950s is making a comeback, thanks to TikTok.
Today, TikTok users are breathing new life into an old fashioned snack with new recipes which are going viral.
TikTok users are sharing new recipes for cottage cheese and going viral.[/caption]
And the sales of cottage cheese are skyrocketing.
Cottage cheese sales increased 20% in U.S. retail in the 52 weeks through June 15 compared to a year ago, according to research from Circana.
Popular videos on TikTok feature cottage cheese based ice cream, buffalo dip, biscuits and more.
Good Culture, a longstanding cottage cheese brand, is used in multiple TikTok videos.
You can snag a 16 oz. serving of Good Culture low fat 2% classic cottage cheese for around $5 at most major retailers.
Kroger sells it for about $4.19.
And Target sells it for around $4.39.
But good luck finding it.
“We know it’s been hard to find us lately,” the company said on Instagram.
“We see the DMs, know demand has been WILD and are working around the clock to get us back in stock.”
Organic Valley, another popular brand, is also selling quickly.
Sales of Organic Valley’s cottage cheese increased more than 30% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, the company told CNN.
“Organic Valley Cottage Cheese is selling faster than we can make it,” Organic Valley Marketing Manager Andrew Westrich told CNN.
STICKING AROUND
In the past year, #cottagecheese has generated more than half a billion views on TikTok.
So what’s all the fuss for this food we once considered bland and weird in texture?
The answer could lie in the fact that health-conscious influencers are now turning to the treat as a source of high protein.
DEMAND SOARS
Cottage cheese seems to be having a resurgence from its heyday.
Back in the ‘70s, Americans ate about five pounds of cottage cheese a year, according to the Department of Agriculture.
But even some industry insiders are surprised at the comeback.
John Crawford, SVP of client insights for dairy at the market research firm Circana, thought cottage cheese would remain stuck in the past.
“Part of it was texture, part of it was – it was a diet food, it was your grandparents’ food,” Crawford told CNN.
“But TikTok changed all that.”
