Mastering the complexity of comforting cheese

Cheese is a comforting snack in challenging times. Capitalising on this opportunity, manufacturers have stepped on the innovation pedal through the COVID-19 pandemic. During the first year, the number of global cheese product launches rose by 11%, with the USA, Germany and France in the top three.

While consumers were in lockdown, many brands responded to the need for exciting and affordable home cooking occasions. Market research analysts at Mintel pinpoint comfort, health and sustainability as key areas that will continue to capture consumer attention in the time ahead.

Market driver

What kind of products are driving most of the sector’s continuing growth? Among all the cheeses with their distinguished tastes and textures, mozzarella stands out.

Cheeses used as ingredients stand for 47% of cheese volume sales. This is where mozzarella and products with a similar stretch and meltability lead the way – primarily as toppings on 80% of the world’s pizzas . With 350 slices of pizza sold every second in the US alone, that’s a lot of mozzarella!

Distinctively complex

Whether producing mozzarella or any other of the infinite cheese varieties, it’s a fundamental truth that all producers rely on the same basic raw materials – milk, salt, bacteria and coagulants.

However, producing distinctive cheese batch after batch is much more complex. In this, the highly specific bacteria in cheese cultures have a leading role in securing the reliability of the cheese process and the functionality of each well-defined product.

Over a century of know-how

We have helped manufacturers develop and produce all sorts of great cheese for more than a hundred years. To get an idea about our all-around capabilities, take a look at the short film below. You can also check out our portfolio.