Cheese Snack |sargento Foods

What's Your Cheese Niche: The Way To Sell More Cheese Is To Offer More Variety In More Locations

Consumers do not need another American single or pizza shred. For the most part, U.S. cheesemakers realize this, as the latest and greatest products to debut can be described as flavorful, convenient, organic or traditional.

The fact is, to get consumers to buy more cheese, cheese marketers must offer them more varieties in more places and for more eating occasions. (The answer is not to get them to eat more cheeseburgers or pizza. Remember, we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic.)

When it comes to new cheese introductions, offerings were plentiful at the recent Dairy-Deli-Bake 2005, which was held June 5-7 in Minneapolis. Virginia Lee, a senior strategic analyst for Euromonitor International addressed attendees saying, "American's growing sophistication will increase demand for artisan, farmstead, ethnic, imported and organic cheeses."

Indeed, that's a lot of what debuted on the show floor.

For the summer salad season, La Farge, Wis.-based Organic Valley introduced two organic cheese crumbles: feta and blue cheese. Available in 4-oz resealable plastic tubs, suggested retail price for each is $4.49.

Another new entry, Organic Valley Organic Ricotta Cheese comes in 15-oz plastic tubs. Like traditional ricotta made by old-world Italian cheesemakers, Organic Valley's ricotta is firm, not solid, and consists of mostly delicate, moist curds. Organic Valley makes its ricotta by reheating organic whole and nonfat milks to very high temperatures. At the critical moment, organic vinegar is added to form the curds. Using vinegar rather than rennet makes this new cheese particularly attractive to vegetarians.

For snack time, the company also now markets kid-sized Stringles[R] cheese sticks in three varieties: Colby Jack, mild Cheddar and mozzarella.

"So many parents asked us to make smaller cheese sticks that we had to accommodate their wishes," says George Siemon, CEO and founding Organic Valley farmer.

The new Stringles come eight to a package, with each Stringle weighing 0.75oz. Featured on every package of Organic Valley Cheese Stringles is Ovie the earthworm, the company's mascot for kids. Ovie's job is to help kids learn more about where food comes from, including the healthy soil, plants and animals that enjoy life on an organic farm.

Indeed, kids' cheeses and snacking cheeses continue to be an exciting area of innovation for marketers. Canada's Saputo Cheese USA Inc., now offers its popular Frigo[R] Cheese Heads[R] string cheese in a Swirls[TM] Cheesy Nacho variety. Natural, not processed cheese, this new snack is described as a kid-pleasing combination of mozzarella and nacho cheeses.

The company also is rolling out Cheese Head Juniors. These bite-sized cheese snacks come in two 10-oz package varieties--"String Cheese Bites & Milk Cheddar Cubes" and "String Cheese Bites and Colby Jack & Milk Cheddar Cubes."

Sargento Foods Inc., Plymouth, Wis., is offering its snacking cheeses in convenient 2-oz single-serve packs. Packs of Mini String (mozzarella cheese) and Mini Sticks (medium Cheddar cheese) contain approximately eight pieces, while Stars and Moons (mild Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses) packs have about 10 pieces.

Both Saputo and Sargento recognize consumers' growing interest in sliced natural cheese and have introduced pre-packaged sliced cheese products. Saputo's Deli Sliced line is marketed under both the Stella[R] and Lorraine[R] Cheeses brands.

Sargento's most recent entry is its Duo Pack of natural slices. These 6-oz packages come in three combinations--"Medium Cheddar & Colby-Jack," "Provolone & Mild Cheddar" and "Swiss & Baby Swiss."

Hoffman's[R] sliced cheeses from the Churney Co., a part of Kraft Foods Inc., Northfield, Ill., now come in a new, more convenient, exact weight 8-oz package. The new design features colorful backer boards with a stylish full-color label, extra room for 10 slices of Hoffman's premium cheese and an inner leaf to separate each piece. The easy-open, recloseable package is perfect for hurried customers who want deli quality without the wait. Asiago and Vermont Cheddar are the most recent cheese varieties to be offered as slices under the Hoffman's brand.

With all these innovations in snack forms and slices, chunk still remains the most popular cheese form. Swiss Valley Farms Co., Dubuque, Iowa, introduces 19 cheese chunk varieties. From classics such as Swiss and Sharp Cheddar to newer flavor combinations such as Hot Pepper Monterey Jack, there's something for everyone.

Mayville, Wis.-based DCI Cheese Co., is rolling out two new flavors to its Great Midwest[R] cheese line--Roasted Red Pepper Jack and Smokey Jack. Wall Street Journal illustrator Kevin Sprouls designed a new logo for the Great Midwest Jack line. The logo features full-color graphics printed on a natural craft-like paper background.

Really large chunks, also called loaves or bulk cheese, are what usually sell through the deli. These loaves, for the most part, are sliced on a by-customer-order basis. The deli case presents one of the greatest growth opportunities for marketers of cheese, since most deli departments today have rather slim cheese pickings.

by Donna Berry