Americans Expected to Purchase 161 Million Pounds of Butter for the Holidays

Home baking is back in full swing during the holiday season, and Americans are expected to purchase 161 million lb. of butter between the second week of November through Christmas. That’s enough to bake more than 11 billion butter cookies!

While butter sales usually increase during the holidays, the pandemic, which spiked a rebirth of home cooking, has also caused butter sales to grow significantly year-round, according to a Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin press release. With home cooking and baking on the rise, the organization has seen a 400% spike in recipe searches over the course of the pandemic.

“We want to encourage residents to choose all-natural Wisconsin farm-to-table butter to create their favorite recipes at home,” says Suzanne Fanning, Senior Vice President at Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.

Twenty years ago, the average American consumed roughly 4.3 lb. of butter throughout the year, according to Statista. From 2011 to 2018, this increased to an average of 5.6 lb. before jumping to over 6 lb. in 2019. In 2020, the year the Coronavirus Pandemic began, butter consumption spiked to 6.3 lb. of butter consumed per year, a high never seen before. While its unsure as to the average amount of butter consumed in 2021, it likely will not fall below the 6 lb. mark.