Cheese industry has something to smile about

Cheese types

The market is divided into product, such as cheddar, Gouda, cottage cheese, cream cheese, feta, mozzarella and other every day cheeses.

• Cheddar - a hard natural cheese with an orange to yellow colouring. If properly cured it has crumbly texture but if too young the texture is smooth. The maturation time also affects the taste with increasing sharpness with time
  
• Gouda - a semi-hard cheese smooth in texture but with a more pliable body than cheddar. It is creamy yellow in colour with a typical nutty flavour.
  
• Cottage cheese - generally a creamy lumpy cheese sold in tubs. It is cured using acid rather than rennet and has a short ripening time of 1 to 2 days. Cottage cheese may either be smooth or chunky and may contain added flavourings.
  
• Cream cheese - this is also an acid cured cheese but unlike cottage cheese it requires a starter culture of bacteria. It is generally mild and velvety in texture.
  
• Feta cheese - a solid crumbly cheese with some fissures, it is generally white in colour with a strong salty flavour, originally of Greek origin. Other feta variants, such as Danish feta, are also classified within this category.
  
• Mozzarella Cheese - a soft textured light coloured cheese with a mild flavour. Usually used in the preparation of pizza
  
• Other everyday cheeses - include Ementhaler, Edam and any uncoloured cheese

Market Trends

The main categories driving this growth were cheddar and Gouda. Cheddar easily remains the largest everyday cheese category, followed by Gouda. Mozzarella is close behind Gouda.

Channel distribution

In terms of channelling, half of everyday cheese volumes are sold through the retail sector. The second largest sector is the foodservice sector.

Regional distribution

In terms of the regional distribution of cheese, Gauteng and Western Cape contribute to the majority of these total volumes.

BMi Research specialises in consumer and industrial research in various sectors, including the retail market. For more information, go to www.bmi.co.za.