Canadian dairy cooperative company Gay Lea Foods is betting big on cottage cheese by spending $200 million to upgrade its production facility in Toronto.

For the firm — which includes 1,200 dairy farmer members — it’s money well spent to boost output of a popular food.

“We’ve seen growing consumer demand for high-protein dairy products over the last several years, and cottage cheese in particular. I think what may have started as a trend has evolved into what we believe is a sustained shift in consumer preferences,” Robin Redstone, director of communications with Gay Lea Foods, said to FoodNX in an interview.

The expansion is expected to be completed by 2028 and will create as many as 75 new full-time jobs, according to the company.

“We officially broke ground on the expansion a little earlier this month but right now the facility does remain open and operational while the expansion work is underway,” Redstone said.

Addressing consumer need for protein

It will feature an expanded footprint at the factory, which is located on Clayson Road in Toronto.

The new facility will allow the dairy company to produce what the market is demanding: more protein-rich foods.

“This will allow us to install more of the equipment necessary to produce these high-protein dairy products. So that’s cottage cheese and also other high-protein products that we produce there at the facility.”

At the site, the ground has been levelled off and construction is slowly beginning, according to Redstone. “Everything is all fenced off and getting ready to expand the footprint.”

Gay Lea was founded in 1958 and today includes other brands such as Ivanhoe, Salerno, Nordica and Lacteeze. It employs more than 1,200 workers and also has operations in Manitoba, Alberta and B.C.

Massive funding for future growth

It’s all part of the greater commitment the company has pledged, which is a $450-million strategy called Network for Growth.

“This investment is the first visible milestone in that strategy, that’s ultimately looking to strengthen and modernize our manufacturing network. It’s the largest investment actually in Gay Lea Foods’ history, and we don’t make investments at this scale based on short-term demand,” Redstone said.

“We are doing it because we feel confident in where the market is going, and we feel confident in community dairy.”

The growth in consumer taste for cheese is not new, according to Redstone, who first noticed its popularity at home.

“I have teenagers. I was surprised a few years ago when one of them asked me to buy cottage cheese to make some flourless tortilla recipe that she saw on TikTok. But now we’re a couple years past that, and it’s a staple on our grocery list now,” she said.

“We’ve seen the demand grew quickly, but it’s been a sustained demand as well, which we think is ultimately a long-term change. It ticks a lot of boxes for people.”

Production increased by 15 per cent, according to a Global News report, citing Statistics Canada data. Companies produced 24,101 metric tonnes of cottage cheese in 2020, rising to 28,139 metric tonnes in 2024.

This growth is happening despite some current challenges in the market.

“I know there’s a lot of uncertainty in the world today around trade and tariffs and things like that but what we are seeing is that consumer preferences continue to evolve," Redstone said. "We’re seeing growing interest in nutritious, protein-rich dairy products, and being a dairy farmer-owned cooperative, we’re sitting at the intersection of Canadian dairy production, modern food processing, and that evolving consumer demand.”

The demand was so great that this past May, Canada experienced a shortage of cottage cheese.

Prices have also risen over the past by 60 per cent, according to Sylvain Charlebois, director and professor, agri-food analytics lab, Dalhousie University, who posted about the phenomenon on X.

What used to cost $3.20 per tub now comes in at over $5, he said.