Cheese, butter and cream drive strong dairy performance for Christmas 2025

Encouragingly, cow-based dairy categories saw increased demand, with the majority in volume growth.

Dairy performance over Christmas 2025

Source: NIQ Homescan POD, 2 w/e 27 December 2025

Cheese: A standout festive performer

As we predicted, cheese performed well this Christmas, and there were an additional 504,000 occasions when it was purchased in the run-up to Christmas (2 w/e 27 December 2025, NIQ Homescan POD).

Cow cheese had a particularly successful Christmas, with volumes up by 4.4% year-on-year. Cheddar (+6.3%), Stilton and British blue (+0.8%) and snacking cheeses (+26.7%) all contributed to this growth, likely used on cheeseboards which we had predicted would be an important part of celebrations for a third of consumers.

Promotional support was strong for these varieties and, as a result, encouraged more shoppers this year to make purchases in the run-up to Christmas.

Notably, more than 663,000 kg of Stilton and British blue, almost a fifth of total volumes sold in 2025, were purchased during this two‑week festive window, underlining the importance of Christmas to these products.

Butter: Block butter continues its momentum

Cow butter, in particular block butter, had a successful Christmas.

Throughout much of 2025, we had seen increased demand for block butter. Shoppers were undeterred by higher price points than for other spread options and leant into the taste and less-processed nature that block butter offers.

This ongoing trend appears to have also helped boost festive demand, perhaps for use on cheeseboards or Christmas baking, and more shoppers made purchases compared with Christmas 2024.

Promotional activity also increased in this period and likely encouraged the additional 898,000 purchase occasions this year.

Cream: Modest growth despite fewer dessert occasions

Cows’ cream was also on shoppers minds this Christmas, and volumes purchased increased by 1.6%.

While IGD reported that desserts was one of the areas in Christmas food and drink which was most likely to be cut back on, which may have accounted for the slight reduction in shopper numbers this Christmas, those who did not cut back purchased cream on an additional 128,000 occasions.

Increased promotional activity boosted demand for clotted cream (+11.4%), other cow's cream which include thick and extra thick varieties (2.2%), and single (+5.4%).

Aerosol (+8.4%) and sour cream (+0.1%) saw an increase in occasions drive their performance.

Considerations for Christmas 2026

Premium and indulgent lines will keep driving spend

Block butter, speciality cheeses and richer cream formats all benefited from additional shopper purchases. Maintaining strong premium ranges, supported by clear quality cues, will be key to sustaining momentum.

Cheeseboards are firmly a festive staple

With snacking cheeses and traditional favourites performing strongly, cheeseboards look set to remain central to celebrations. Curated ranges, seasonal flavours and cross‑category merchandising can help capture this demand.

Promotions will continue to shape shopper behaviour

This year’s uplift was heavily supported by well‑timed deals. A balanced promotional plan, offering value without eroding margins, will be essential in the crucial final weeks before Christmas.

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