Some price sensitivity in cheese?

Dairy Foods

Editor's note: This is the first in a an occassional segment-specific installation of Dairy Market Trends.

It's been clear for some time that last year's high milk prices had a detrimental effect on sales. There's also evidence that cheese sales were slowed when the increased cost of raw milk was passed on to consumers.

A look at quarterly sales of natural cheese shows that as dollar sales went up in the last three quarters of 2004, unit sales began to lose momentum. For processed slices, the picture is less clear. That category was shrinking by both dollar and unit measures before the prices of raw milk jumped last spring. But afterward, dollar sales increased, while unit sales were shrinking at a slower rate.

In the latter half of 2003. natural cheese in all its forms was growing at a significant rate both in terms of dollar sales and units. But starting with the second quarter of last year. dollar sales reached double-digit growth, and unit sales began to cool off.

For processed slices, unit sales have been lower each of the last six quarters, comparative to the same period in the year prior. A look at the top 10 brands of natural cheese in different forms shows that all but one experienced gains in dollar sales in 2004, but five of them sold less units than in 2003.

Shredded cheese has been one of the segment's best performing subcategories for the past few years. A look at the top shredded cheese brands shows that it's a competitive market, with some brands growing and others shrinking. But seven of the brands grew dollar sales last year, while only half saw an increase in unit sales.

The table of the top brands of natural cheese also demonstrates that the most popular forms continue to be chunks and shreds. All of the top 10 brands of shredded cheese are natural cheese. Readmore »»

Meyenberg Goat Milk Products

goat cheese, jalapeno, cheddars

Dairy Foods

A leading marketer of goat milk, Meyenberg Goat Milk Products, Turlock, Calif., enters the gourmet cheese market with specialty Cheddar and Jack cheeses, which the company believes will change the way Americans think of goat cheese. Four goat milk Jack cheese varieties, an aged goat milk Cheddar and a Special Reserve Cheddar are now available in select markets around the country.

The aged goat milk Cheddar is reminiscent of an Asiago cheese, which is full of robust flavor, and has a firm, drier texture than traditional Cheddar cheese. The Special Reserve Cheddar possesses a delectable sharp flavor as a result of its minimum one-year age. The Jacks come in four varieties--plain, smoked, jalapeno and garlic & chive--and have an unusually light, creamy texture.

The Cheddars are available in 5-1b blocks, or in a 5-1b case of 10 8-oz bars. The Jacks come in 4-1b uncut wheels and in 4-1b cases of 10 8-oz bars. The cheeses retail for $15 to $19 per pound, with the exception being the Special Reserve Cheddar, which commands a higher per pound price: $17 to $22.

jalapeno Readmore »»

New cheese and milk facilities in the works

raw milk, Rick Perry, soy products

Dairy Foods

A new cheese plant and a facility expansion at an aseptic food and dairy plant were announced by Hihnar Cheese Co. and Steuben Foods last month, and a group of co-ops says it is considering building a brand new milk plant in Kansas.

Hilmar says it plans to build a plant in the Texas panhandle that will produce about a half-million lbs of cheese a day. Hilmar, and Texas governor Rick Perry announced last month that the $190 million cheese plant in Dalhart would begin first phase production in fall 2007. Texas will offer tax incentives to help bring the business to the Lone Star State, and Hilmar, which has had run-ins with California over waste water issues, also said it was influenced by the state's "positive business climate" and "reliable regulatory environment."

Meanwhile, Steuben Foods is planning an $18 million expansion at its Elma, N.Y. plant to increase capacity for organic milk and soy products. An organic milk processing facility is also being added through a joint development with Horizon Organic. Previously, Steuben had no raw milk processing capability at the plant.

From Kansas comes reports that Dairy Farmers of America, Select Milk Producers, Artesia, N.M.; Lone Star Milk Producers, Windthorst, Texas; and Zia Milk Producers, Roswell, N.M, are mulling the idea of building a $50 million milk plant to get processing closer to some 20 large-scale producers in the southwestern part of the state.

Rick Perry Readmore »»

Swiss Valley, Tillamook among top winners at NMPF cheese competition

tillamook, cheddar, monterey jack

Dairy Foods

Swiss Valley Farms' Regular Swiss was judged Best Overall Cheese, and Tillamook Cheese received eight awards at the National Milk Producers Federation's (NMPF) annual meeting held Nov. 29--Dec. 2 in San Francisco.

Swiss Valley placed 1st 2nd and 3rd in the Swiss category with cheeses from three different facilities. The Regular Swiss from the Luana, Iowa plant scored 99.85 and went on to take the top prize.

Among the top awards winners for Tillamook were Monterey Jack, winning first and second, with scores of 99.8 and 99.6 respectively, in the natural cheese category. In the unique/flavored category, TCCA won another first place, with a score of 99.6, for Tillamook Pepper Jack, and a second place award for Tillamook Colby Jack with a score of 98.9.

Agri-Mark won the best Cheddar award with a medium Cheddar from the Middlebury, Vt., facility that scored 99.6. Best Italian-style cheese went to Cass Clay, Hoven, S.D. for an Asiago. Readmore »»