Muuna has high hopes for cottage cheese category with new products launch

“We decided to re-imagine cottage cheese, inside and out,”​ Muuna CEO Gerard Meyer said.

According to Meyer, cottage cheese has developed a “boring and bland” ​reputation and the company spent years creating a proprietary recipe that would change this perception. Muuna also does not look like the typical cottage cheese tub most consumers associate with the dairy food. Instead, it is packaged in bright single-portioned cups with streamlined labeling.

The company’s cottage cheese products come in single-serve cups in six flavors: strawberry, blueberry, pineapple, peach, mango (each with pieces of fruit at the bottom), and low-fat plain cottage cheese. The company is also launching two multi-serve items: low-fat plain and classic plain. All of its products are free from artificial flavors, colors, and sweeteners, and each cup contains 19 grams of protein, the company said.

Muuna cottage cheese was recently launched in select Northeast retailers,including ShopRite and Shaw’s. The products retail for $1.69 for its 5.3-ounce cup and $3.49 for its 16-ounce containers.

Cottage cheese hasn’t kept up with yogurt

Cottage cheese hit its peak in the early 1970s when Americans ate approximately five lbs of it each per year, according to USDA data. That number declined further from 2.6 lbs in 2000 to 2.1 lbs in 2013 of cottage cheese consumption per person in the US.

Conversely, in 2013, the USDA found that the average American was eating about 14.9 lbs of yogurt per year. This data is reflected in the composition of the dairy aisle in many grocery stores, which has a disproportionate amount of yogurt varieties compared to cottage cheese.

The company acknowledges that the cottage cheese category hasn’t seen much in the way of innovation compared to yogurt, which the company says was the inspiration behind 'recreating' cottage cheese.

"Cottage cheese has been around forever, and mainly thought of as a diet food. The same was true for yogurt, but yogurt innovated while cottage cheese remained stuck in the past,”​ Meyer said.

Meyer also believes that Muuna cottage cheese can capture a consumer audience that typically purchases Greek yogurt because of its creamy and rich flavor profile with a high amount of protein.

“We invite consumers to compare Muuna to their favorite cottage cheese or their favorite Greek yogurt, because if you like those, you'll love Muuna,”​ Meyer said.