Cheese

Cheese: a core ingredient in U.S. food service

Our proprietary food service cheese study offers a directional snapshot of how U.S. food service operators think about cheese today — and where they believe it can create future value. Based on research carried out in May and June of 2025, the study is built on 15 telephone interviews with key decision-makers across food service establishments. These include ten quick-service restaurants, four fast casual operators, and one healthier-focused concept. On average, 60% of products sold on these menus include cheese.

Three key takeaways:

Cheese is already doing heavy lifting
From free extra cheese promotions to seasonal options, 75% of the businesses we interviewed have run cheese-focused promotions or limited time offers
Cheese performance counts
Flavor, meltability, and consistency emerge as some of the most-often mentioned factors driving cheese performance.
Future growth is considered likely
12 of the 15 businesses we interviewed anticipate that their use of cheese will continue to grow in the future, driven by menu expansion and new items.

Qualitative view

While not designed to be statistically representative, the study offers a rich, qualitative view into the perception of cheese in U.S. food service environments. It makes clear that cheese helps drive appeal and menu variety, yet is also expected to meet demanding performance requirements. It also gives insights into how operators are working towards future menu evolution.

By Finn Wulff, Head of Consumer Insights at Novonesis
Finn Wulff brings more than two decades of global marketing and commercial leadership across B2B and FMCG industries. He specializes in translating complex biosolutions into clear, customer-focused value propositions, helping organizations commercialize innovation and drive market adoption.

With extensive experience and international roles spanning Europe and Asia, he has led major product launches, strategic transformation initiatives and cross-functional teams across the full value chain, from R&D to sales. Known for his strong communication skills and customer-centric approach, Finn combines data-driven insights with commercial acumen to shape impactful marketing strategies. Follow Finn.