With high-protein diets still circulating on social media, with the fan favourite being cottage cheese, dairy producers are betting on this being more than a trend.
“Our customers are asking for more. Unfortunately, we’re sort of tapped out at our current capacities as we speak,” Suzanna Dalrymple, president and CEO of Gay Lea Foods, told Global News.
Gay Lea Foods, which makes Nordica cottage cheese, is expanding its Toronto production facilities to increase output.
On Tuesday, the dairy company announced a $200 million investment to “significantly” expand its Clayson Road dairy manufacturing facility in Toronto, saying the investment will help to address what it calls a “national cottage cheese shortage.”
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National production of cottage cheese is on the rise. Production increased from 8,571 tonnes in the first quarter of 2025 to 9,870 tonnes in the first quarter of 2026, according to data from Statistics Canada. That marks a 15 per cent increase in one year.
There is approximately 12 to 14 grams of protein in a half cup serving of Nordica cottage cheese, making up more than 20 per cent of Health Canada’s recommended daily protein intake for most people.
“I think really fundamentally people are looking for more affordable animal proteins and dairy is really having a moment because of that,” Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, told Global News.
Dalrymple said TikTok has helped play a role.
“I love the videos. They’re so fun to watch. And at the beginning, I think that was what contributed to a lot of people thinking that maybe it was a fad,” she said. “But it’s certainly not.”
Earlier this year, dairy co-op Agropur also announced plans to expand its cottage cheese production.
“It means that they’re pretty confident that it’s not just a trend,” Charlebois said. “It’s really going to be something that’s going to be sustainable over the long term.”
Gay Lea Foods says the expansion is expected to be complete by 2028.
—with files from Jacqueline Hansen, Global News
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