No Super Bowl party is complete without the good stuff…cheese! Whether you order it on your pizza, shred it in your queso or eat it right off your fancy charcuterie board, using cheese is the best way to add a little flare to your game day extravaganza.
But just how much cheese do Americans consume during the Super Bowl? Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin projects that over 20 million pounds of cheese will be gobbled up by fans while watching the NFL’s signature event.
“Cheese has always been a game day staple, but this year, we are seeing record-breaking cheese sales and a huge increase in game day recipe searches,” says Suzanne Fanning, chief marketing officer for Wisconsin Cheese and senior vice president at Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, in a Dairy Farmers press release. “The desire for recipes with cheese—the ultimate comfort food—coupled with the continued craze for charcuterie boards, ensures that cheese will be the real winner of the Big Game.”
According to the organization, the 20-million pounds would equate to 1.7 million wheels of cheese – enough to fill the entire playing field of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay with a football-field sized cheese board and all other NFL stadiums nationwide
With more Americans eating at home in 2020, cheese sales jumped by 13%. More consumers purchased cheese last year than in any other year. Additionally, Google trends data revealed the most popular big-game snacks by state, and 28 U.S. states (56%) named a dish that included cheese—from tacos to dips and cheeseballs to charcuterie boards.
Another crowd favorite during the big party? Specialty cheeses.
“Many of [Wisconsin’s] cheesemakers have added extra shifts and secured extra space to accommodate all the orders, not to mention adapt their businesses to accommodate the sudden jump in online cheese orders from consumers across the country,” says Kirk Scott, senior vice president of Dairy Company Communications at Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, in the press release.
No matter how you slice it, it’s clear that cheese will be the real MVP of snacks this coming Sunday.
