Dairy Defined:
The Kids are All Right — They Trust Dairy
May 11, 2026
Consumers continue to maintain high levels of trust in dairy and its industry, according to the latest Consumer Perceptions Tracker from Dairy Management Inc. The tracker, now in its third year, shows the percentage of consumers giving dairy its top two trust ratings (on a seven-point scale) rose to 36% in 2025, one tick up from the previous year.
That’s gratifying, but perhaps not that surprising. But want to see what’s driving it? Look at the overall percentage breakdown by age. Then, look at the teenagers:
The cohort that has the most trust in dairy is… teenagers, with 47% rating dairy a 6 or a 7 on the 7-point scale. While it’s true that “6-7” was a viral craze among the young folk in 2025 (which now is soooooo last year), the evolution toward greater trust among the young folk — those “hepcat whippersnappers,” those “totally rad hipsters” — probably goes deeper than that. Note the three-year trend:
From 33% in 2023, to 41% in 2024 to 47% in 2025. That’s a real move. And it shows a bright future for dairy.
Maybe it’s the cottage cheese craze. Maybe it’s the decline of the plant-based beverages that hoodwinked millennials. Maybe it’s the renaissance of whole milk. Maybe it’s good old-fashioned persuasion, brought to teenagers via their own media channels and supported by dairy farmers and their allies.
For whatever reasons, support for dairy no longer is something that is strongest among the elderly — teenagers have positively Boomer-level (actually, better) respect for what dairy farmers do. That’s where an industry wants to be. That’s where dairy is. To borrow from the pop culture of the Boomers the teens have surpassed, the Kids are Alright — true in 1966, true in 2026.
And the choice of a new generation.
