SA chooses processed over speciality cheeses

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Processed cheeses

The processed cheese market is divided into processed slices, spreads, portions and bulk. In this growth market, the processed slices dominated the total market value in share which is slightly above 2011. Processed portions remained at a limited growth for 2012 while bulk processed cheese saw an increase from 2011.

The cheese spreads category saw very little volume growth for 2012 and processed slices holds the biggest volume contribution to the overall market.

Foodservice consumption skewed to processed slices, whereas less demand for processed portions was experienced for the same period.

Processed cheese channel distribution

The average industry selling price saw an increase from 2011 to 2012 amongst the four processed cheese categories.

The report noted a few new product lines from existing players in the cheese industry, which may also be the contribution to the shifts it has seen in the industry.

Processed cheese regional distribution

Overall, the processed cheese category is expected to see a growth for 2013 and 2014 respectively.

Speciality Cheese

This market is divided into mould cheese, which includes both white and blue mould cheeses; Parmesan type cheeses, which includes Provolone; speciality Italian cheese, which encompasses all Italian cheeses that are not classified elsewhere, including mascarpone, pecorino and ricotta; and other speciality cheeses not categorised elsewhere, which includes goat's milk cheese, Leyden, gruyere, haloumi, Havarti, Colby and Amsterdammer.

Market Trends

The mould cheese market saw a decline in 2012. This follows a string of increases year-on-year where the category showed good growth. The slight decline evident for the base year may be because of white milk raw material supplies being diverted into other priority cheese categories and even into alternative dairy products.

There were a number of new entrants to the market during 2012 as well as a few exits, but the larger players remain dominant and stable. Any growing industry faces challenges and the speciality cheese category is no exception. Issues such as the training of young cheese makers, a good and reliable distribution system for the smaller, independent cheeseries and offering good cheeses at affordable prices, remain some of these.

Other speciality cheese is the second largest category of the speciality cheese market. This category showed a decline in 2012 after a growth in 2011.

While less focus is felt in this category, the growth or decline in volumes of other speciality cheese still has a large impact on the market overall.

Parmesan type cheeses saw a growth in 2012 and volumes are expected to be fairly static by players once again during 2013.

This category of cheese saw an increase in share in the foodservices direct channel.

Speciality cheese channel distribution

Gauteng saw an increase whereas Western Cape has seen a decrease in the category.

Speciality cheese regional distribution

Like its foodservice counterpart parmesan, the speciality Italian cheese category saw a good growth from 2011 to 2012. The category is expected to show only a low growth from 2012 to 2013 according to the players in the industry.

The category saw an increase in foodservices direct channel.

The future growth for this market is low, with the category expected to remain at current production levels over the next.

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