Consumers say a curved package enables them to get every last bit of product out of their dairy container. Source: Dean Foods.

Last year, some members of the dairy industry thought it hip to be in square packaging. But Dean Foods, Inc. is taking a more circuitous route. Its Land O’Lakes brand sour cream and cottage cheese products are appearing on retailer shelves throughout the upper Midwest in curved packaging.

According to Dave Haley, director of field marketing for Dean Foods Company, which has a licensing agreement to use the Land O’Lakes brand, curved packaging provides several benefits. Consumer research verified the curved bottom profile is more convenient for scooping up the product with a spoon, chip, vegetable or cracker or in other ways. Consumers stated the curved package would eliminate those “white knuckles” so common when people try to scoop out cottage cheese and dip.