Dairy - cheese 2024: snacking and protein buoy cheese value

There’s no keeping Strings & Things down. For the second year running, it’s the star of the cheese category. It’s grown value 19.9% – faster than any other top 10 brand – while volumes are up 17.1%, markedly higher than the category’s 2.2% increase.

“Our success stems from the brand’s ability to deliver good food made fun, providing parents with a healthy, nutritious snack for their kids in a fun, playful way,” says Liz McTurk, Strings & Things brand manager.

That commitment to fun was evident in April, when Strings & Things relaunched the retro Cheestrings Pizza Flavour as a permanent line after a 16-year hiatus. (A temporary revival in 2021 was brief.)

Other cheese snacking brands have less reason to be cheerful. Take Babybel and The Laughing Cow. The Bel UK brands are up 5.1% and 3.5% in value respectively. But their volumes have slipped into the red.

Nevertheless, Oliver Richmond, Bel senior brand manager for snacks & spreads, is bullish. He points to “well-received flavour and format innovations that play to consumer demand”. One such innovation was Maxi Babybel, a limited-edition 200g cheese unveiled for Christmas 2023. It performed well enough to be relaunched in time for this year’s festive period.

Other brands are capitalising on the wider protein trend. Cottage cheese maker Longley Farm, for instance, has grown value by 23.6% on volumes up 22.2%, after social media users added cottage cheese to meals to up their protein content.

Cathedral City has been innovating specifically in protein. In September, the buoyant brand added High Protein, a half-fat mature cheddar available in block, sliced, grated and mini formats. Each 100g provides 30g of protein, compared with the 25.5g of Cathedral City’s regular Mature Cheddar.

The launch was a way of “tapping the needs of health-conscious consumers”, says Neil Stewart, head of marketing for cheese at owner Saputo Dairy UK.

“Consumers are increasingly aware of the nutritional portfolio of the food they consume, and more of us are seeking out ways to increase our protein intake,” he adds.

While health is front of mind for many, there’s room for all preferences in the cheese fixture, suppliers insist. “Continental cheese meets a consumer need for indulgence,” says Heloise Le Norcy-Trott, group marketing director for Lactalis UK & Ireland.

The sales figures appear to back her claim: Lactalis continental brands Galbani, Leerdammer and Président have all grown volumes faster than the overall category.

Brie, mozzarella and the like, Le Norcy-Trott adds, offer “everyday pleasures amidst ongoing cost pressures”.

Read more: Dairy - cheese 2023: Cheese snack lines secure brand loyalty