Focus On Cheese: 26 November

Publishing: 26 November 2022
Advertising deadline: 11 November 2022
Submissions deadline: 4 November 2022

Feature one: Trading down
By Matt Chittock matt.chittocknew@googlemail.com 

With prices rising on the humble cheddar block and its more exotic peers, it’s little surprise that British shoppers are buying less cheese. Volumes are down overall, though own label is enjoying an increase to its category share, and discounters are cleaning up. As household budgets tighten, the trend could continue. So how are retailers going to respond to these challenging times? Will we see consolidation in the category? And what ideas do brands have for merchandising and ranging?

Pricing: Cheese prices have leapt up across every different type, and promotional sales are down. How reflective is this of input costs? And how is it affecting tiering?

Retailers: How are retailers changing their ranging, merchandising and other strategies for cheese in response to the cost of living crisis?

Branded vs own label: Own label cheese has fared better than the branded sort in the last year. So what are brands trying to do to claw back share?

Health and sustainability: With shoppers more focused on value this year, how will it affect shopper behaviour on health, sustainability and other ethical concerns? And what will the response be?

Innovations: We will profile 4 new products or ranges that have ideally not appeared in The Grocer before. We need launch date, rsp, and a hi-res picture of each

Feature two: Cheese snacks
By Rob Brown rob_j_a_brown@hotmail.com 

The past year has been a success for small portions of cheese. Sales are up 6.6%, and volumes have even grown a bit. Brands that specialise in the segment have also done well out of it – at a time when many of their peers are struggling. So why has snackable cheese taken off? What innovation and ideas are proving especially popular? And how can it continue to grow in the coming year?

Premium: Snackable formats usually come at a greater cost than blocks. So how are they still selling as living costs rise?

Adults vs kids: With different products pitched towards children and grownups, how are the different propositions faring?

Innovations: We will profile 4 new products or ranges that have ideally not appeared in The Grocer before. We need launch date, rsp, and a hi-res picture of each