Leading retailers are pledging their support for British cheesemakers, following a challenging few months for the artisan cheese industry.
Tesco and Waitrose have both announced plans to source more artisan cheeses for their shelves, while representative groups for the industry are encouraging shoppers to buy local.
Route To Market
Waitrose said that it is launching a 'Best of British' cheese selection box, incorporating Westcombe Cheddar, Sussex Charmer, Yorkshire Blue, Cornish Yarg and Rosary Garlic, and Herb Goat’s Cheese, to support small cheese producers that have been affected by the COVID-19 epidemic.
Shopping habits have changed as a result of COVID-19, the retailer said, with consumers either shopping online or spending less time in store, meaning that fewer are shopping at in-store counters.
“COVID-19 created a big shift in the way people shop," commented Alice Shrubsall, assistant cheese buyer at Waitrose. "We recognised this trend and quickly adapted our approach to ensure our smallest cheese counter suppliers had the opportunity to sell their products in packaged form so that they didn’t lose out to the fast shopping habits adopted by customers in recent times."
Elsewhere, Tesco has introduced two new artisan cheeses to its range, Kirkham’s Lancashire and Keen’s Cheddar, from Somerset, which traditionally have relied on the foodservice sector as well as farmers' markets for the majority of their income.
The retailer said that demand for specialty cheeses has increased 35% in recent weeks, compared to the same period last year.
The retailer has also called upon Jamie Oliver to help promote the range, with the celebrity chef commenting, "Rallying around our fantastic British producers at this incredibly challenging time is so important if we want to keep the industry afloat."
Supporting The Sector
In mid-May, there were fears over the future of one of the UK's most revered cheeses, Stilton, after sales fell by around a third (30%) due to market lockdown and the closure of export markets.
This prompted the chairman of the Stilton Cheese Makers Association, Robin Skailes, to call on shoppers to support the industry, and to buy British where possible.
"Like many British food producers, Stilton sales have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic," he said. "We hope that the British public will support us by buying Stilton instead of imported blue cheeses which, in turn, will support British dairy farmers."
Initiatives like those being introduced by UK retailers are being welcomed by cheesemakers, who see it as a means to expand in to additional sales channels.
“The COVID crisis has certainly presented many challenges but it has also created some interesting opportunities too," according to Catherine Mead, owner of Lynher Dairies. "It has helped create public awareness of the importance of local produce and has undoubtedly put local producers on the map.
“Interestingly, this pandemic has also helped us reach new audiences in-store, while similarly generating some unexpected increases in online traffic. Pre-COVID, we would receive only two orders online per day, and we are now consistently getting 100 orders daily.
"That is a significant increase in demand, which is quite remarkable and a very welcome silver lining during these challenging times.”
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
