Our guide to selling artisan cheese at Christmas

For many food lovers, the Christmas cheeseboard is second only to the turkey when it comes to excitement levels, which means getting your cheese selection right ahead of the big day is of paramount importance to fine food retailers.
Christmas is a time of overindulgence, of course, but by sourcing smartly and knowing what your customer wants – as well as what will surprise and delight them into an impulse purchase or two – you can ensure they’ll leave your premises satisfied by not only their hoard but also by the service you’ve provided.

Feed the feast

“Christmas is a time for feasting and, personally speaking, I’m one of those shoppers that can’t help but buy enough fine cheese to feed a small army. It’s a tradition; there’s almost something built into our DNA telling us that you don’t want to run out of fancy cheese at Christmas!” says Sarah Norris, head of marketing at Godminster. “Joking aside, I think that there is a Venn diagram of wants and needs when it comes to Christmas cheese shopping: shoppers want something traditional, they want something to feel like an indulgent treat, they want something special, and they want something comforting. Cheeses that tick all of those boxes will fly out the fridge doors.”
Dean Holmes, deli and cheese room manager at Friday Street Farm Shop, agrees. “At Christmas time, discipline goes out the window – everyone gives in to their weaknesses and buys larger lumps and a wider variety of cheese than they would normally, accompanied with requests for wines, crackers and biscuits that complement them.”

In terms of what to stock, Dean has found that year-round bestsellers sell even better at Christmas. “The corner stone for our cheese room is Baron Bigod – it’s our bestseller week-in, week-out, and at Christmas time customers buy such large quantities. If I was to choose something other than the Baron Bigod it would have to be Alp Blossom. Alp Blossom catches everyone’s attention when they enter the cheese room, with its beautiful confetti-like appearance. It’s a smooth, sweet and gentle Austrian cheese covered in alpine flowers of the mountain meadows.”

At I.J. Mellis, director Rory Mellis has found that customers are divided into two camps – the regulars and the festive shoppers, both of which require tailored approaches. “So many people just come to us once a year, and they can be quite ritualistic with what they buy. It tends to be the customers who are with us all year round that are excited to see something new come in for Christmas.”

This experimentation often comes in the form of small goats’ cheeses. “This tends to be their little bit of fun in addition to getting wedges and wheels of the classics, so we always increase our range of little goat’s cheeses for Christmas.” These purchases are often impulse ones – shoppers have more people in the house than usual so are looking for a small, delicious and perhaps adventurous addition to their cheeseboard, and are happy to experiment with cheeses they haven’t tried before.

The value of truckles

While truckles are a safe stocking bet all year round, they’re even more valuable as the festive season approaches, as Sarah explains. “Firstly, they’re perfect for gifting. A waxed truckle still needs refrigeration but will last longer out of a fridge thanks to their waxed coating. This makes them really great for customers taking car journeys up and down the country visiting relatives, as well as the perfect cheese for hampers and gift packs. Secondly, they’ve got fantastic Christmas shelf appeal. Waxed truckles can come in great shapes like stars, which look brilliant in a fridge or on a cheeseboard.
“Thirdly, they often include great seasonal flavours. Truffle cheddars are a great sellers throughout the year but at Christmas they really shine. Capitalise on the increased interest in decadent flavours by adding more lines of seasonally relevant flavours like truffle.”

Bring out the blues

Many would argue that Christmas isn’t Christmas without a wedge of Stilton, and the traditional British blue has held onto its crown of the king of Christmas cheeses with good reason. “Stilton is always the centre of attention when it comes to a Christmas cheeseboard,” says Priya Taylor, brand marketing manager at Clawson Farms. “Being an iconic festive cheese, Stilton becomes the king of the cheeseboard, and it pairs very well with festive favourites such as fruits, chutneys and wine.”

Stilton is a particularly strong seller during the festive season, and it pays to put some thought into how you can stock it smartly. “You could offer cheese tastings or bite sized tasting samples of cheese on a cocktail stick,” suggests Priya. “This could be enhanced with offering tastings with pairings such as fruits, nuts, crackers and wine too. Why not elevate this even further by demonstrating the versatility of Stilton via some Christmas canapes and recipe cards?”

While Stilton will be at the centre of Christmas cheeseboards up and down the country come Christmas Day, there are myriad ways to enjoy it which come into their own during the festive season. “Cooking with Stilton elevates any dish because a little goes a long way. Try crumbling Stilton into your favourite soup, adding some to a cheese toastie, or into a winter warming pie.” Check out the 1912 Artisan Stilton website for a host of recipes sure to delight your customers.

Don’t forget the goats’ cheese

Grand Stiltons and savoury Cheddars are stalwarts of the Christmas cheese counter, and with good reason – their full flavours satisfy our festive appetites for rich tastes and familiarity – but ignore the opportunities that goats’ cheeses provide at your peril.
“Goats’ cheeses are a great option for the Christmas cheeseboard as they are often a lighter cheese to enjoy, compared to the traditional hard and blue cheeses, and have a different flavour profile,” begins Roger Longman, owner of White Lake Cheese. “Also, the pure white of a goats’ cheese is reminiscent of snow, so it adds a festive touch!”

Goats’ cheese is delicious on cheeseboard and in numerous festive recipes. “In terms of enjoying a goats’ cheese as part of a festive cheeseboard, goats’ cheese goes very well with fresh fruit, nuts and honey. To make it very special at Christmas you can enjoy goats’ cheese with a drizzle of truffled honey – delicious,” says Roger. “Goats’ cheese goes very well with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc or a young red wine like a Cabernet Franc or a Beaujolais. As far as recipes go, think about using semi-hard or hard goats’ cheeses in raclettes, tartiflettes or in a cheese fondue. Perfect dishes for warming you up in the winter!”

The art of display

When it comes to display, shoppers are expecting fireworks from fine food retailers – by putting extra effort into the details you can create a space that makes shoppers want to linger, which often leads to extra spend. At the cheese counter, create a functional yet inspiring space. “Thinking about those cheeses that add a bit of theatre and celebration is really important,” says Sarah. “Encourage your customers to visualise what their Christmas dinner table will look like, and picture them opening up a larger-than-life truckle of cheese to the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ of their friends and family.”

Rory recommends keeping it simple and stocking it high to catch people’s attention. Last year the exterior of I.J. Mellis was adorned with clementines from Paris for a striking display which not only drew in shoppers from down the street, but added a fragrance to proceedings, too. “People were buying two or three to serve with their cheese – they were only 20p or 30p each, but they definitely added some fun to the season.”

If you have the space for a cheese room, Christmas is its time to shine. “There aren’t many farm shops that can boast having a cheese room, so the experience is like nothing most people have seen before,” says Dean. “Being able to come in to such an environment and to smell and taste all the cheese we have to offer and have it cut to size and neatly wrapped makes it even more enjoyable.”

Even having a dedicated space doesn’t avoid the annual challenge of how much to stock and how to display it well. “At Christmas time our displays tend to be a bit more difficult as due to the volume of customers we need to really fill the cheese room up but we do like to always make sure everything is well presented and attractive for our customers,” says Dean.