Focus On Cheese: 23 November

Focus On: Cheese by Rob Brown and Natalie Brown

Download feature synopsis PDF here

Publishing: 23 November

Advertising deadline: 13 November

Submissions deadline: 6 November

The Story

Brits are gorging on cheese. An extra £65m worth of the stuff went through the tills this year, fuelling 167 million more consumption occasions. There is one unexpected winner from this uplift: brands. This time last year, they were struggling with a long-standing decline as the major mults went heavy on range rationalisation. Now they are returning to value and volume growth. That’s been helped along by some savvy NPD alongside pricing and promotional activity. So who is leading the way in the branded comeback? What is the key to their success? And what does this say about the state of the cheese category?

Key themes:

Brands: The major players are upping their efforts to tempt shoppers. That’s particularly true of Dairy Crest brands, which have been reinvigorated as a result of the Saputo takeover. Which brands are gaining share? And who is being left behind?

Pricing: How are brands tempting shoppers with pricing? Promotions may be down overall, but there has been growth in volume deals.

Marketing: To what extent is marketing playing a part in the growth of cheese brands? Who is spending big on advertising? And what is the message they are looking to communicate?

Continental vs cheddar: Continental remains the fastest-growing type of cheese, while cheddar is lagging behind. Why is this? And can branded innovation change this picture?

Snacking: Snack formats are the rising star of the cheese category. Which brands are playing into this demand? How is innovation fuelling growth? And how are the retailers responding?

Pack sizes: Snacking is one major growth area in cheese. But the best things don’t all come in small packages - larger pack sizes are also gaining ground. Who is capitalising on this trend? And what is appetite for larger packs doing to prices?

Shopper Intelligence: How consumers shop the cheese aisle 

Raw milk cheeses: What is their future as regulators clamp down on food safety? There have been a few recalls outside of the Errington incident. Is that impacting on consumer buying habits?

8 x innovations: We identify four new products or product ranges that have not appeared in The Grocer before including launch date, RSP and a picture of each.

Kantar data: Using Kantar data, we explain the factors driving performance in the cheese market.

Nielsen data: Using Nielsen data, we explain the performance of the top 10 cheese brands.