Cottage cheese has long been considered an ‘outdated’ product category, but the new Alterego brand is seeking to change this by combining health benefits with great taste, as noted by Dairy Reporter.
Alterego positions itself as a new player in the UK’s cottage cheese market. The brand’s founder, Rose Hancock, did not initially plan a career in the food industry — her interests lay in medicine and pharmaceuticals, but her focus on preventive healthcare led her to the field of nutrition.
“I have always been fascinated by human biology,” Hancock said. “I studied anatomical science at university, which is essentially human biology and neuroscience. I considered medicine and a career in pharmaceuticals, but realised I was more passionate about preventative medicine and how our lifestyle and diet can impact our health.”
The brand’s concept arose from personal experience: cottage cheese was seen as a healthy but compromised product in terms of taste. “I ate it myself, but it was always a compromise for the sake of health,” notes Hancock. That is precisely why Alterego focuses on combining a creamy texture, a slight tang, high protein content and live cultures.
“The offering in the cottage cheese category was so limited,” she said. “You compare it to beans and tempeh and matcha and you see such innovation in those categories. Cottage cheese was so stale, so traditional and budget-led that there was nothing to get people excited.”
Production was established in collaboration with Yester Farm Dairies. The brand emphasises natural ingredients: the milk and cream come from its own herd, and it uses sea salt and live cultures.
“We’ve created a new recipe, and it was important to me that it was completely natural… live cultures were very important to me,” explains Hancock.
Branding plays a key role in positioning. Alterego builds its communication around the concept of ‘healthy indulgence’, combining functionality and taste. “‘Alter ego’ has two sides: health benefits and creamy richness.”
Demand for the category is already showing signs of growth. According to Tesco, sales of crumbly cheese have risen by 200% over the past two years, and retail sales increased by 118% in 2025. The wider trend towards protein and gut health is driving interest in the category.
“Forecasting has been the biggest challenge so far,” Hancock said. “We have to plan our production in advance, but also, we’ve got a short-life product, so we can’t just keep a huge stock of it,” notes Henkock.
The brand is already stocked at Sainsbury’s and plans to further expand its product range and distribution. The focus is on younger consumers, where penetration of the category remains the lowest.
“Some people just want as much protein as possible… Others want something that tastes really good and is healthy too — and that’s where Alterego comes in,” concludes Hancock.
Source: Dairy Reporter
