5.5.5.2Vertical

Cheese Manufacturing

Dairy companies producing natural and processed cheese varieties.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Dairy Processing (5.5.5), the segment that Cheese Manufacturing sits within. They are not figures for Cheese Manufacturing on its own.

Market size
~$157B
Growth
~6.2%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~1,250 firms
Firms by employee count

56.6% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 707 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe543 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
25647%
100–499
14126%
500+
14627%

The most capital-intensive business in food: roughly 1,250 firms average $126M of revenue, an order of magnitude above the sector, because fluid milk and cheese require continuous plants sited against milk supply. Growth outran the sector on commodity milk pricing. There is very little mid-market here. Assets are plants, and plants are expensive.

NAICS 311511, 311512, 311513, 311514, 311520. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Fluid, cheese, and value-added dairy shipments

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$125,796,168
Revenue per employee
$968,450
Employees per firm
130.1
Recurring revenue
High

recurring dairy demand

EBITDA margin
Thin commodity; richer branded/specialty
Capex intensity
High

Characteristics

  • Scale-driven: payroll is only 7% of revenue, so the cost base is assets, not headcount
  • Moderate strategic-buyer pool: 146 firms exceed 500 employees, so a scaled asset has buyers, but not many
  • Cheese the largest value driver; fluid milk declining.
  • Shift to yogurt, protein, and value-added dairy.
  • Plant-based and functional alternatives growing fast.

NAICS 311511, 311512, 311513, 311514, 311520. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Geographic concentration

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaIndianaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaHawaiiIowaKentuckyMarylandMichiganMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOhioOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode IslandPennsylvaniaWisconsin

The single most concentrated industry on the site: Wisconsin carries nearly ten times the national intensity of dairy processing, because plants must sit within a tanker run of the milk and the herd has not moved.

WisconsinPennsylvania

U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses (firms by state), NAICS 311511/311512/311513/311514/311520. Concentration shown by location quotient.

M&A deal context

Deal activityModerate

Who’s acquiring

  • Dairy majors & cooperatives
  • Specialty & value-added-dairy acquirers
  • PE-backed platforms

What’s driving deals

  • Consolidation around majors and co-ops.
  • Value-added, protein, and specialty dairy.
  • Plant-based and functional expansion.

Find Cheese Manufacturing acquisition targets

Search Acquisera’s index for companies classified under Cheese Manufacturing (5.5.5.2) and build a targeted deal pipeline.

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