Salessoar withthe greatest of cheese
Lockdown snacking has seen customers raising a toastie to the dairy staple
LOCKDOWN has been the perfect time to say cheese, with sales up 23 per cent over the past 12 weeks.
Retail experts Kantar say shoppers have spent £10million a day on cheese since March 23.
Cheddar has been the biggest seller, up 28 per cent as a nation used to grabbing a sandwich struggled to make three meals a day at home.
The increase has been across the board, with shoppers buying blocks of cheddar for toasties and fancier varieties for cheese boards and picnics in the park.
Gooey burrata, hot baked camembert and brie have been everywhere on foodie social media.
Wendy Barrie, founder of the Scottish Cheese Trail, said: “Farm shops have seen cheese and charcuterie flying out of the door, especially in warmer weather, when people want a special meal but don’t want to cook.
“People have had time on their hands to read more and discover food they want to try. And then discuss it on Twitter.”
George Mewes, who has specialist cheese shops in Glasgow and Edinburgh and supplies many of the country’s top restaurants, saw a rise in demand.
He said: “We marketed the supplies of cheese that we could get and had so much support from our customers. People wanted to buy cheese.
“We have had people saying in the shop that it’s nice to get some treats when they’re not dining out. They are going the wee extra mile.” Barrie has been working to support cheesemakers through the pandemic. She praised the food industry for rallying round, adding: “When restaurants closed, some cheesemakers lost 80 per cent of their market. But the cows still need to be milked. A lot of small producers furloughed their staff and relied on family members. Some built websites and started selling online, others did deliveries. Producers started selling cheese boxes with friends. I know a chutney producer who does a cross-promotion with a cheesemaker. Another is making pizza kits.
“Once restaurants got over the initial shock, they started doing takeaways that included cheese. It all helped.”
She is not surprised that cheese sales have gone up.
She said: “When you’re cooking at home, on a budget, you want to keep people full with nutritious food. That’s why cheese is such a valuable product. The pandemic has been hellish but there have been some silver linings.”