Cottage cheese, long a quiet presence on supermarket shelves, has become the latest viral sensation on TikTok, driving a surge in demand that has prompted a Scottish dairy to invest £3.5m in expanding production. Graham’s Family Dairy, based in Fife, completed the extension to meet what it describes as “all-time record demand”, with managing director Robert Graham noting the business has “gone into overdrive” since the trend emerged in 2023. The company’s cottage cheese sales now exceed its milk business, and exports have reached as far as the Gulf states and Hong Kong.
The trend is fuelled by social media, with hashtags like “cottage cheese breakfast rounds” amassing 15.1 million views on TikTok and “cottage cheese edible cookie dough” reaching 8.7 million. Tesco reports that demand for cottage cheese has tripled over the past two years, with buyer Elizabeth Tomkins calling it a “fully fledged culinary phenomenon” that has boosted the UK dairy industry. Industry data from The Grocer shows monthly sales volumes rose from around 900,000kg in early 2023 to over 1.7 million by the end of 2025.
Nutritionally, cottage cheese has gained a reputation as a healthy option, thanks to its high protein content and low calorie count. Registered nutritionist Rob Hobson describes it as a “minimally processed dairy food” that provides high-quality protein, calcium, iodine, and B vitamins. He notes that TikTok has reminded people of its versatility, with creators using it in everything from pizza dough to bechamel sauce. However, Hobson cautions that cottage cheese contains more sodium than yoghurt due to salt used in the cheese-making process.
The boom reflects a broader trend of rising protein awareness among UK shoppers, with 28% actively boosting their protein intake and nearly half of adults increasing it over the past year, according to surveys by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and Ocado. While TikTok’s obsession with cottage cheese may seem like a fleeting fad, the nutritional benefits and industry investment suggest it could have lasting appeal.
