Is Foreign Cheese Trumping British?

While the sales in 2013 of Cheddar remained at the same level, continental sales rose by over 8 per cent.

Ros Windsor, MD of Paxton & Whitfield said, “Although popular with our customers (trade and retail) our sales of international cheeses are not affecting the sales of the British artisan cheeses that we sell. Looking at the sales figures from 2009 through to last year, our split in sales between British and international cheeses in percentage terms has remained pretty steady; British cheese sales are around the high sixties and international cheeses take up the rest.”

“We sell a lot of British artisan cheeses, traditional styles such as Stilton and Cheddar as well as newer ones such as Baronet and Tunworth.There have been some articles recently about sales of international cheeses taking over British cheeses but these figures are more related to supermarket sales rather than artisan cheesemonger sales. I have to believe that customers increasing familiarity with continental cheese is counter-balanced by the increasing number of fantastic British artisan cheeses that are available nowadays.”

Patricia Michelson, founder of La Fromagerie said, “The British public are embracing farmer’s markets, and cheese stalls are now resident in many city street markets. The emergence of dedicated cheese shops has been very noticeable. Shopping for food is becoming more interactive, pro-active and enjoyable, and maybe that’s why supermarket and chain food shops are noticing that their shelves are looking bland and unattractive to the food shopper. You may think that online is where it’s at, but by doing loads of shopping online gives the public more time at the weekend to go to outdoor markets and wander around trying new foods and speaking to the people who make them.

“The cheese wizards who want to promote British cheese need to show why our territorials are not only good for you but are a great part of our daily diet. We don’t have to eat huge quantities when enjoying cheese made in the traditional way. So maybe let’s start by re-packaging in smaller pieces, get the right attitude in place for the public to understand and enjoy the taste and most of all shout loud and proud.

“The past two years have seen cheese prices rise due to an animal feed price hike. We are going to see more price rises, but also ‘funky’ flavours coming through, but in my opinion nothing beats a piece of Cheddar or Lancashire with a Cox’s Apple Pippin.”