Can't Find Cottage Cheese at the Store? Here's Why

If you're finding bare dairy shelves where the cottage cheese should be, you're not alone—and it's not your grocery store's fault, reports the New York Times. As Niko Gallogly writes, the once-stodgy diet staple has been reborn as a "protein-maxxing" star on TikTok, where creators churn it into ice cream, smoothies, and other high-protein snacks. That social-media glow-up has helped drive US cottage cheese sales to more than $2 billion in 2025, up 82% since late 2022, even as manufacturers admit they were caught flat-footed.

Dairy co-ops are now racing to catch up: New York-based Upstate Niagara is pouring $275 million into expanding high-protein production, while Wisconsin's Westby Cooperative has already sold out of its future, higher output for three years. Breakout brand Good Culture says it can meet less than half of demand despite rapid expansion and a $500 million acquisition by private equity firm L Catterton—fueling consumer suspicion that big money is behind shortages or recipe changes, a claim the new owners deny. See the full piece at the Times for more on how TikTok, protein obsession, and private equity collided in the dairy aisle. (Or read about another shortage fueled by the protein craze.)