Madison, WI — Sophisticated cheese flavors and varieties continue to develop along with the United States’ collective palette, according to What’s in Store 2012, the annual trends report from the International Dairy-Deli- Bakery Association™ (IDDBA). Cheese embodies many top culinary trends, including local/ farm/estate-branded ingredients, ethnic flavor interest, emphasis on children’s nutrition, and simplicity.
Bolder flavors are the hottest cheese trend as consumers venture beyond younger-aged cheeses to more robustly aged and more flavorful ingredient-filled cheeses. Artisan cheeses are now flavored quite diversely, with inclusions like truffle, chipotle, wasabi, horseradish, cocoa, saffron, apricot, pear, and bacon, to name a few. Washed-rind and cave-aged cheeses are also popular. Some retailers now even do their own cheese aging. The top three fastestgrowing natural cheeses at retail are Manchego, Gruyére, and Gouda.
Restaurants are offering more cheese varieties on menus for appetizers, to accent entrees, and for dessert. The cheese course has been showing up on gastro pub menus and restaurants. Middle-aged-to-younger consumers are more likely to eat cheese for dessert. Specialty cheeses on burgers and pizza have become more common place, and grilled cheese has climbed the social ladder from American cheese between slices of white bread to Manchego cheese and Serrano ham on a panini.
Artisan cheese ranked 20th in the National Restaurant Association’s What’s Hot in 2011 chef survey. In the “other food items/ingredients” category, artisan cheese is the top trend, followed by ethnic cheeses, such as Queso Fresco, Paneer, and Halloumi. Hispanic cheeses continue to drive sales. As the Hispanic population rises in the United States, so does demand. At the same time, consumers use these cheeses as they try to recreate dishes at home that they tried in popular Latin American and Mexican-style restaurants. With interest in the Mediterranean diet and the growth of Greek yogurt, Feta cheese is more popular.
Households in the highest income category, $100,000+, index the highest for more flavorful cheeses. Larger households tend to purchase the most Cheddar cheese. Two-member households are the most likely to purchase cheese from the deli. Also most likely were families with household incomes greater than $75,000, those with no children under the age of 18, and White or Hispanic consumers.
According to Nielsen Perishables Group, almost 70% of U.S. households make service deli cheese purchases. Shoppers average roughly 15 trips to the in-store deli annually. Deli cheese accounts for 19.8% of deli department dollar sales. In the 52 weeks ending September 22, 2011, specialty cheese accounts for 64% of this category, (7.4% growth), service cheese, 30.2% (4.9% growth) and 5.9% (7.7% growth) from pre-sliced cheese.
Grocery stores had the largest share of total cheese volume sales at 63.8% in 2010, though volume growth decreased 1.9% from the year before according to SymphonyIRI Group Panel Data reported by Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. U.S. cheese demand has significantly slowed in recent years, averaging 2.2% growth for the last decade, down from 4.7% growth in the 1980s and 3.3% annual growth in the 1990s.
Domestic natural cheese production rose 3.2% in 2010 to 10.4 billion pounds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Natural cheese volume has increased to 14.1% over five years, though processed cheese production decreased 3.1% to 2.1 billion pounds in 2010. In the same timeframe, processed cheese production was down 6.8%.
Shredded cheese is the top selling form, followed by chunk/loaf cheese and sliced cheese.
What's in Store 2012, our 26th edition, is a 200+ page trends report that details consumer and industry trends affecting the dairy case, cheese case, bakery, deli, and foodservice supermarket departments. Its 185+ tables, developed in cooperation with leading industry firms and associations, include department sales, per capita consumption, consumer preferences, and random-weight, UPC, and private label sales data. The full report is available from IDDBA. The cost is $99 for IDDBA members and $399 for non-members, plus shipping and handling. Along with the book, readers have access to What's in Store Online, featuring over 50 quarterly-updated, downloadable, color sales tables with random-weight (PLU), UPC, and system 2-coded data. In addition, the Web site offers timely white papers, trends articles, and links for all of the businesses that are referenced in the What's in Store book. For more information, or to order, call the IDDBA Education Department at 608.310.5000 or visit the organization's Web site, www.iddba.org.
About IDDBA: IDDBA is a nonprofit membership organization serving the dairy, deli, bakery, cheese, and supermarket foodservice industries. Member companies enjoy many benefits and services including the annual seminar and expo, leading-edge research, training programs, management tools, and an annual trends report. For more information, contact IDDBA at 608.310.5000 or visit our Web site, www.iddba.org.
Source: The International Dairy•Deli•Bakery Association™