BMI report on everyday cheese

Everyday cheese
There are six main categories with a small Other Group including foreign cheese:

• Cheddar - a hard natural cheese with an orange to yellow colouring. If properly cured it has crumbly texture but if too young the texture is smooth. The maturation time also affects the taste with increasing sharpness with time
  
• Cottage cheese - generally, a creamy lumpy cheese sold in tubs. It is cured using acid rather than rennet and has a short ripening time of 1 to 2 days. Cottage cheese may either be smooth or chunky and may contain added flavourings
  
• Cream cheese - this is also an acid cured cheese but unlike cottage cheese it requires a starter culture of bacteria. It is generally mild and velvety in texture
  
• Feta cheese - a solid crumbly cheese with some fissures. Generally white in colour with a strong salty flavour, originally of Greek origin. Other feta variants, such as Danish feta, are also classified within this category
  
• Gouda - a semi-hard cheese smooth in texture but with a more pliable body than cheddar. It is creamy yellow in colour with a typical nutty flavour
  
• Mozzarella cheese - a soft textured light coloured cheese with a mild flavour. Usually used in the preparation of pizza
  
• Other Everyday Cheeses - this includes Ementhaler, Edam and any uncoloured cheese

Market Trends

Consumption of everyday cheese reached, reflected an increase from 2010 levels. Everyday cheese contributed 0.2% to the South African economy in 2011, thus remaining constant GDP share over the last few years.

Cheddar cheese remains the largest cheese type in terms of both value and volume. The growth in gouda stabilised between 2010 and 2011 after some volume loss in 2009. Gouda regained the second position in volume terms with mozzarella cheese moving back to third. This recovery is in the wake of strategic decisions by key players in this sector to focus on the Gouda category. Both soft cheese and other everyday cheese remain niche product offerings within this market.

Mozzarella cheese stabilised in 2011 after the 2010 growth. Growth in this market is driven by the foodservice sector, which consumes close to half of all the mozzarella cheese produced. The foodservice market has recently seen greater diversification into other offerings such as deserts and breakfasts, so the cheese component within that has subsided and a growth plateau has been reached.

Cheddar cheese is by far the most popular cheese type across cow, sheep and goat milk cheese

There is a growing trend towards production of goat and sheep milk cheese, particularly amongst the smaller regional cheeseries, as consumers become more aware of the inherent qualities of these non-cow milk-based cheeses.

The majority of players interviewed were optimistic about the future of everyday cheese, although smaller cheeseries cited that they were failing to compete against imported cheeses as these are priced more competitively than their handmade cheeses. Fat free cheese and feta in particular, is gaining popularity as the healthy eating trend continues to develop.

Closely tied to the health trend is the growing organic food trend, which manufacturers mentioned as a key area of growth, going forward. Some consumers are also interested in knowing if the animals providing milk are well cared for and such endorsements on the product's packaging are becoming more prominent in this market.

Some retailers pride themselves in the wide selection of cheeses on offer and that the speciality cheese market is driven by these initiatives. On the other hand, it also does make the market more competitive and therefore price sensitivity from the consumer begins to play a more dominant role

Total Market Volume Everyday Cheese - 2011

Channel Distribution of Everyday Cheese - 2011

Local Regional Distribution of Everyday Cheese - 2011

BMI Research: Consumer Division has the ability to draw on company's established experience in the retail and wholesale sectors, providing a unique and customized solution to understanding consumer behaviour.

For more information, go to www.bmi.co.za.