In the run-up to the coronation of King Charles, we are looking at many ways to celebrate the ‘king of cheese’: stilton.
We can credit King Charles with saving the British cheese industry in the 1990s, by bringing artisan producers and government together. It was a time when traditional methods of cheesemaking looked as though they would cease due to new health and hygiene legislation.
Fast forward to 2023, and a wealth of delicious British artisanal cheeses are available. However, we are once again facing a situation where the king of cheese might disappear from the deli counter and cheese aisle.
I spend a lot of time looking around supermarkets and delis, where I am always struck by the amount of space given to continental cheeses versus stilton and other British blues. Despite the volume of stilton sold in the UK, it is still under-represented on the fixture in British retailers and delis. Even though this delicious product is our ‘champagne’ of cheeses due to its PDO status, it simply doesn’t have the shelf standout it deserves. We know when buying British food, provenance and sustainability are important for consumers, so there is real opportunity to give more space to stilton and other British blue cheeses.
More promotion of British blue cheese will tap into a consumer need, support British farmers and cheesemakers, and cut down on road miles. From a value position, stilton is outperforming the total blue cheese category, driving 6% value growth and accounting for 40% of overall blue cheese value sales [Kantar]. Yet in most supermarkets it is allocated less than 20% of total blue cheese space. Also, there is education work to be done on the wonderful flavour profiles of British blue cheeses and how versatile they are – not just for cheese boards, but also in cooking.
Our research has shown there is opportunity for significant growth, and our mission alongside other producers must be to inspire people to take British cheeses beyond the cheese board and use in everyday meal occasions.
Last year, we launched a Save Our Stilton campaign to highlight the potential risk to this wonderful cheese. We also launched 1912, an artisan stilton that has taken three years to perfect and is bringing premium, quality NPD to the category. We are also working with Marco Pierre White to champion stilton, and with content creators across social media to inspire people to cook more with it. Our aim is to champion the amazing heritage behind the UK’s Master Cheesemakers. We, along with other stilton producers licensed under PDO to make stilton, feel we are the custodians of a British jewel that needs to be nurtured.
If we can encourage shoppers to increase purchase from three to five times a year, and grow penetration by 5%, this will create a massive impact across the industry. It will achieve growth of an additional 2,000 tonnes which, by itself, will sustain the key stilton producers.
I’m very much hoping British stilton will be on the menu for King Charles’ coronation, both at the palace and as part of celebrations up and down the country. But it will only be possible if we work together to lobby the industry to champion our nation’s king of cheese and inspire more shoppers to try it.
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