Cottage cheese ‘deserves a comeback’: Good Culture co-founder and CEO says

By Mary Ellen Shoup

- Last updated on GMT

Good Culture's line of sweet and savory cottage cheese flavors all provide 17 to 19 grams of protein per cup.
Good Culture's line of sweet and savory cottage cheese flavors all provide 17 to 19 grams of protein per cup.
Irvine, California-based Good Culture is leading a revival in the cottage cheese market with help from a $2.1m partnership with General Mills in March 2016.

Good Culture cottage cheese wants to “disrupt a sleepy category with exciting and relevant innovation. Cottage cheese is an overlooked super-food that deserves a comeback,”​ Good Culture founder and CEO Jesse Merrill told DairyReporter.

Good Culture recently launched an organic, whole milk, grass-fed range of sweet and savory cottage cheese flavors, available in 700 retail stores at a suggested retail price of $2.49. Packaged in 5.3 oz. fully recyclable cups, flavor varieties include: strawberry chia, blueberry acai chia, classic, kalamata olive, and sundried tomato.  

Focus on natural nutrition

Good Culture starts with milk from grass-fed, free-range cows from sustainable family farms in Wisconsin. The company’s tagline “It’s cottage cheese, but better” refers to the use of only a few, natural ingredients.

Good Culture aims to appeal to consumers who are looking for healthier, unprocessed food. All ingredients are organic and non-GMO, which makes for a cottage cheese that is high in protein (17-19 grams per cup), low in sugar, and without gums or thickeners.

“We are experiencing a paradigm shift where people are looking to real food as their primary source of nutrition,”​ Merrill said. “Consumers are looking for full-fat dairy products that are satiating, delicious, less processed, and contain less junk.”

One container of the cottage cheese contains 5-6 grams of fat and 140-160 calories.

Competing for ‘share of stomach’

“We are competing for share of stomach with other high-protein, nutrient-dense snacks. We believe that if we stay true to our mission of making better foods that are good for you and the planet we’ll continue to have a strong narrative that will resonate deeply with consumers,”​ Merrill said.

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