Got cottage cheese? Montreal shoppers are having trouble finding it

There seems to be a cottage cheese shortage hitting grocery stores in the Montreal area, and social media may be to blame.

Mena St-Onge visited three stores before tracking some down. “I went to Maxi, I went to Super C,” she said. Finally, Esposito’s on Sherbrooke in NDG had some in stock.

For St-Onge, it’s not about chasing a trend. “I’m diabetic. It’s a good source of protein for me,” she said.

It’s a good source of protein for everyone, which is exactly why cottage cheese has been blowing up on social media.

Younger consumers are driving the demand, said Sylvain Charlebois, a professor at Dalhousie University and director of the Agri-Food Analytical Sciences Laboratory.

“The beauty of the TikTok trend related to cottage cheese is that they made the ingredient versatile. You can do a lot of different things. You can actually make breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, snacks. And that’s what makes the cottage cheese issue so popular,” he said.

Popular enough to empty shelves. At Esposito’s, manager Sylvain Beaulieu says he has some stock, but not as much as he should. “I have two deliveries a week for milk and I know I don’t receive the cottage cheese,” he says, adding that prices at the store haven’t been affected yet.

Agropur, makers of Sealtest cottage cheese, told CTV News their plant is operating at full capacity and that they have plans to increase production.

Registered dietitian and nutritionist Kim Arrey said those who can’t find cottage cheese have a solid alternative. “Cottage cheese is an excellent source of protein. It also comes with some calcium and potassium — those are all good things that we need. So it’s great. I think it’s comparable to Greek yogurt,” she said.

Greek yogurt itself is another recent trend, but St-Onge isn’t into what’s trending.

“I don’t do TikTok, but I’m surprised they’re out of cottage cheese. Like, what is that?!” she said.

For St-Onge, it’s the first time she’s seen her longtime staple attract quite so many new fans.