Speciality Food Inspirational Cheese Retailers 2025

specialityfoodmagazine.com 39 what’s available. “I feel like that keeps customers engaged. They won’t find the same cheese in the same spot every week. We try to keep it seasonal, so we’re heavily stocked with goats’ cheese at the moment.” A new customer base From a display point of view, Broad Bean is a little different. Instead of a serve over counter, Ian chose a patisserie display. “It’s like a large TV screen – 5ft by 3ft. The cheeses look great, and it creates a lot of engagement and conversations. We’ve always got tasters on the block, so we’ll sample those out while people are looking. Once people try something, they tend to buy it,” he says. His customer base is largely locals, but also tourists who’ve flocked to Ludlow to investigate its restaurant scene. “And over the last 18 months the age range has expanded. We still get a lot of older, more affluent people in, but I ALWAYS SAWTHIS AS BEING AN OLD SCHOOL DELI, AND THAT STANDS US OUT FROM THE CROWD younger professionals are finding us – our cheese sales reflect that.” Bucking the trend as being stuck in their ways with Cheddar and Stilton, Ian says it’s the more mature customers who are being adventurous in their cheese buying decisions, while younger shoppers are happier to be guided. “The older people are more likely to have tried something on their travels or with friends and they’ll come and ask if we’ve got a cheese or if we can get it in, which is great. I love it. We’ve got a couple of grandparents as well who set their grandchildren little food tasks, like trying 12 types of olives in a year – creating the next generation of customers. It’s fantastic.” BEST-SELLING CHEESES BEAUVALE A delicately textured, soft, creamy blue, with gentle veining. A great alternative to Gorgonzola Dolce. cropwellbishop creamery.co.uk WOOKEYHOLE CAVE AGED CHEDDAR Made using fresh Dorset milk, and carried by hand 200ft underground tomature and develop inWookey Hole’s caves. fordfarm.com SMOKED PERLWEN ThisWelsh cheese is smoked over beech, which enhances its mushroomy, truffley notes. cawscenarth.co.uk SHROPSHIRE BLUE A striking addition to any cheeseboard thanks to its bright orange colour and deep blue veining. clawsonfarms.co.uk