Artisan Cheese in 2022

MAGAZINE 4 “W e saw a huge drop in sales of vegan cheese during the lockdown periods,” says Jen Grimstone-Jones. “Whereas we were selling more of everything else in the shop at this time, the vegan cheese sales fell off a cliff.” But now everything is changing. Cheesemakers are perfecting their recipes and vegan cheese is not just good now, it’s really good. It’s a slow area of growth andmany retailers are still finding it hard to sell, but the seeds that have been planted are starting to bloom. The global vegan cheese market size is projected to reach a CAGR of 16% during 2022- 2028 according to Designer Women. It might feel like slow progress, but it’s a safe bet for the future. “Sales have begun to pick up again but not quite to the same levels as we were seeing before,” says Jen. “Our minimum order quantity has gone up with our vegan supplier so we often struggle to meet it, but we will only sell products that we would eat ourselves and at the moment we only sell KindaCo products.” For other retailers it’s all about choice and at Curd & Cure they’ve found the more varieties of vegan cheese they carry, from a wide range of producers, the better for the customer. “Vegan cheese is a market we have seen grow exponentially and anticipate this growth continuing,” says Jessica Honey, commercial manager at Curd & Cure. “Fromwhen we first began listing vegan cheese around five years ago, the variety and quality has come on leaps and bounds. We now list around 50-plus varieties of vegan cheeses and alternative dairy products and have worked hard to find the very best producers in the country who are extremely skilled in what they do. Again, there are parallels with dairy cheese, and whilst we anticipate that consumers will be looking for options with lower price points, which we offer as part of this range, we are still seeing much demand for artisan, British produced SPECIAL REPORT SPECIALITYFOOD THE GLOBAL VEGAN CHEESE MARKET SIZE IS PROJECTED TO REACH A CAGR OF 16% DURING 2022-2028 SOURCE: DESIGNER WOMEN A DAIRY FREE-FOR-ALL One area of cheese production and sales that’s been steadily increasing in demand is vegan cheese. As the number of consumers opting for a vegan lifestyle surge, so too does the innovation around this burgeoning sector – and the vegan cheeses available on shelves in 2022 are a far cry from the originals. A t Slate Cheese the team is looking at ways to make browsing and shopping for cheese more of an experience to cater for the ever-more discerning post- Covid consumer. In our post pandemic times people want that human touch and a more personal service could be the key to navigating these choppy waters we are in. “With suppliers increasing prices and overheads and packaging going up, we are having to put prices up,” says Clare Jackson. “We can’t discount right now, so we’re doubling down on customer service instead. We’re perfectly placed to tell stories of local produce in Suffolk, and we can give out tasters while we talk about the journey of the cheese. People always get to taste before they buy in our shop.” Clare makes a point of looking for the positives and CUSTOMER SERVICE RULES For businesses who are having to pass on price increases to the customers, the path ahead is paved with customer service. notes that people will be more likely to entertain at home during this crisis, rather than spending money on eating out. This means cheese businesses can diversify their range and offer more accompaniments to cheese. Sunit Mehta from Rowcliffe agrees. “Consumers will adapt their consumption in a variety of ways in order to save money including trading down, eating out less and buying more value range items.” At Rowcliffe they see a range of possibilities for combatting the price hikes in the supply and production of cheese. “The introduction of smaller pack sizes is expected,” he says. “Businesses are exploring alternative sectors and customers to help widen the market. Everyone will be trying to reduce and cut costs in other areas in a bid to avoid passing costs onto customers.” vegan cheese which demands a higher price point.” It’s a point Rowcliffe has seen in action. Whether the higher price of vegan cheese wins out with customers who have more focused needs, is yet to be seen. “Vegan cheese is verymuch a growing trend, but quality alternatives are expensive,” says Sunit Mehta. “Therefore, we can expect a similar impact on sales to that which we have seen in dairy cheese.”