U.S. cheese consumption has grown considerably over the last three decades.
Using a censored demand model and Nielsen Homescan retail data, this study
identifies price and non-price factors affecting the demand for
differentiated cheese products. Own-price and expenditure elasticities for
all of the cheese products are statistically significant and elastic.
Results also reveal that a strong substitution relationship exists among all
cheese products. Although demographic influences are generally smaller than
those related to prices and expenditures, empirical findings show that
household size, college educated female heads of household who are age 40
and older, residing in the South, Central, and Western regions of the United
States, as well as Black heads of household, have positive statistically
significant effects on consumers' cheese purchases.