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CHEESE SPECIALTY CHEESE LOVE ENDURES As this new decade began, it seemed the Australian love affair with cheese, both home produced and from across the globe, would keep getting stronger, says Somerdale International Australia Sales and Marketing Director Di Jones. She says sales of specialty cheese were escalating in value terms, with new formats, flavours and functionality expanding the sector. “Consumers were both buying more and spending more on cheese as they widened their cheese repertoire and usage occasions, while retailers, from the majors through to specialist delis, were recognising that a comprehensive cheese offering presented a major opportunity to drive value-added returns and at the same time differentiate themselves from the competition,” she said. “Then Covid-19 struck and everything was turned on its head, or at least it seemed so for a while. However, although undoubtedly there’ll be more challenges and change to come, I for one firmly believe that the underlying fundamentals are still strong for the cheese category and I’m confident that the growth and vibrancy we were witnessing will return.” She says the pandemic’s effect on the cheese category has been “very marked”, although impacts vary according to the type of cheese being sold. Sales of everyday cheddar, for example, “rocketed” at the start of the lockdown, Ms Jones says, as consumers rushed to stock up with what they “rightly perceived as a food that represented both great value and versatility”, but sales for ‘entertaining cheese’ “fell off a cliff” as consumers “hunkered down” in their homes, cooking for themselves but not for guests. Reflecting this, sales of premium Australian and imported cheeses fell significantly in the second half of March and throughout April. In April alone, which this year included the normally buoyant Easter trading period, volume of entertaining-cheese sales dropped by an unprecedented 15.6 per cent, with sales value down 10 per cent across the segment (IRI Scan Data to 28/6/20). “However, I’m pleased to say that sales of specialty, and from our perspective, premium British cheeses, have bounced back as the lockdown has eased,” Ms Jones said. In June, Somerdale pre-pack and deli counter sales growth was excellent, she adds, not only reversing declines of the early Covid period, but also attracting higher growth in year-on-year terms. This recovery, she says, reflects that although people were remaining at home, more were choosing to entertain friends and family rather than go out to dinner. “After the frankly depressing lockdown, it seems that people wanted to treat themselves with good food and drink, good company and, of course, a good cheese board to round the evening off,” Ms Jones said. “Interestingly, sales have grown exponentially in Victoria, which \\\\\\\[was\\\\\\\] back in lockdown. This is perhaps indicative that the Victorian population \\\\\\\[was\\\\\\\] treating itself in the wake of another period of social isolation.” Nevertheless, Ms Jones points out that this recovery in sales doesn’t mean a return to normal trading, with considerable challenges and uncertainties ahead. “The impact of Covid-19 on the wider economy and on consumer confidence and spending is only just starting to be seen,” she said. “Indeed, I think it’s highly likely that things won’t return to how they were, anytime soon. However, what the new normal will look like, and whether we’ll see a continuation of trends that arose during lockdown, such as the increase in entertaining and cooking at home, is hard to tell.” Therefore, she adds, all food and drink categories, especially those at the premium end of the market, will need hard work to ensure that products remain relevant and attractive to consumers. “Indeed, in relation to driving sales of British and other imported specialty 50 RETAIL WORLD OCT, 2020