Cheese sales for the 52 weeks ending 28 December 2008, when compared to the previous year:

• Total cheese sales have increased by 0.6% to 376,454 tonnes.
• The average price of a kilo of cheese has increased 13.9% to £5.98/kg.
• Mature cheddar sales increased 1.3%, while mild and medium cheddar sales fell.
• Branded cheddar sales increased as did value cheddar sales, while standard cheddar sales fell.
• The average price of branded cheddar is now 2.0% (13p/kg) lower than the average price of standard cheddar, most likely to be due to promotional activity on branded cheddar.
• Soft cheese sales increased 3.6%, while territorial and processed cheese sales fell 1.3% and 5.0% respectively.

Total Cheese Market - Loose and Prepacked

Latest TNS data shows that 376,454 tonnes of cheese were sold in the 52 week period ending 28 December 08, up by 0.6% on the previous year, equivalent to 2,245 tonnes. Sales of loose cheese continue to fall, falling 0.4%, to 24,948 tonnes, whereas sales of pre-packed cheese grew by 0.6% to 351,506 tonnes; giving a split of cheese sold loose and pre-packed of 6.6% to 93.4%.  

Cheese prices have increased year on year, up around 13.9%, the equivalent of 73p/kg. Loose cheese is on average 16.9% more expensive than prepacked cheese, with loose cheese at £6.92/kg and prepacked cheese at £5.92/kg. It will be interesting to see if the weakening economic climate affects cheese sales in the coming months.

52-WEEK DATA FOR WEEK ENDING 28 DECEMBER 2008
	Total	Yr/Yr %	Loose	Yr/Yr %	Pre packed	Yr/Yr %
Spend (£000s)	2,251,743	14.6	172,549	7.9	2,079,194	15.2
Volume (Tonnes)	376,454	0.6	24,948	-0.4	351,506	0.6
Average Price (£/Kg)	5.98	13.9	6.92	8.4	5.92	14.5

 

 

Cheddar Market - By Type and Brand

Total cheddar* volumes stand at 204,251 tonnes for the 52 weeks ending 28 December 2008. This is an increase of 4,005 tonnes (2.0%) compared to the previous year.

Mature cheddar sales continue to outperform mild and medium cheddar, with mature cheddar sales increasing 1.3%, while mild and medium cheddar sales fell 0.8% and 0.7% respectively. However, total cheddar sales increased by more than mature cheddar suggesting that there has been a move to other cheddar types, for example farmhouse, vintage, extra mature and full flavour. Sales of other cheddar varieties now stand at 59,459 tonnes.

Sales of mild cheddar have fallen 0.8% equivalent to 374 tonnes to 46,394 tonnes in the 52 weeks ending 28 December 2008. Medium cheddar sales have fallen 0.7% to 17,680 tonnes, 124 tonnes lower than the same period last year. Mature cheddar sales have risen by 1.3%, the equivalent of 1,036 tonnes. Sales of mature cheddar now stand at 80,718 tonnes for the 52 weeks ending 28 December 2008.

The average price of cheddar has increased on average 17.3% (equivalent to 89p/kg) in the year to 28 December 2008 to reach £6.03/kg. Mild cheddar has seen the largest rise increasing by an average of £1.05/kg (26.0%) to average at £5.07/kg. Medium cheddar has increased 14.8% to £6.12/kg while mature cheddar has increased 16.3% - 88p/kg to £6.30/kg. This means the premium for mature cheddar over medium cheddar is just 18p/kg.

52-WEEK DATA FOR WEEK ENDING 28 December 2008
CHEDDAR	TOTAL*	Yr/Yr %	Mild	Yr/Yr %	Medium	Yr/Yr %	Mature	Yr/Yr %
Spend (£000s)	1,230,959	19.6	235,156	25.0	108,242	14.0	508,330	17.8
Volume (Tonnes)	204,251	2.0	46,394	-0.8	17,680	-0.7	80,718	1.3
Average Price (£/Kg)	6.03	17.3	5.07	26.0	6.12	14.8	6.30	16.3

* Please note - Total refers to all categories of cheddar. In addition to Mild, Medium and Mature; the Cheddar category includes: Extra Mature, Farmhouse, Full Flavour, Vintage and Other cheddar types.

Sales of branded cheddar continue to show increases on the previous year, with sales up by 9,101 tonnes (13.2%), to 78,052 tonnes, this is despite the average price increasing by 65p/kg (11.6%). However, branded cheddar is often on promotion in many retailers, this can be seen by fact the average price of branded cheddar is 2.0% (13p/kg) lower than standard cheddar and may explain why branded cheddar sales have grown. Standard supermarket label cheddar sales fell 9.0% to 73,644 tonnes, most likely affected by the average price being higher than branded cheddar. Sales of value cheddar increased 4.3% (2,167 tonnes) to 52,555 tonnes. Despite the average price of value cheddar increasing 27.6% (£1.11/kg) to £5.12/kg, it still remains 18.5% (£1.16/kg) below branded cheddar and significantly lower than standard cheddar. This differential in price may have been part of the reason why value cheddar sales increased.

52-WEEK DATA FOR WEEK ENDING 28 DECEMBER 2008
Branded/ Labeled CHEDDAR	Branded CHEDDAR	Yr/Yr %	Standard Supermarket Label CHEDDAR	Yr/Yr %	Value Supermarket Label CHEDDAR	Yr/Yr %
Spend (£000s)	489,830	26.2	472,275	7.6	268,854	33.1
Volume (Tonnes)	78,052	13.2	73,644	-9.0	52,555	4.3
Average Price (£/Kg)	6.28	11.6	6.41	18.3	5.12	27.6

* Note: TNS re-weighted their data in March 2006, therefore a degree of caution should be taken when comparing figures reported after March 2006 with those reported prior to this re-weighting.

Other Cheese - Soft, Territorial and Processed Cheese

Sales of soft cheese increased 3.6% (775 tonnes) to 22,298 tonnes in the 52 weeks ending 28 December 2008, when compared to the previous year. This may in part be due to the average price of soft cheese increasing just 5.9% (the smallest percentage increase by type seen in this period). Territorial and processed cheese sales both fell in the same period, territorial sales fell 1.3% (519 tonnes) to 39,390 tonnes. Processed cheese fell 5.0% (1,985 tonnes) to 37,717 tonnes as the average price increased 9.4% to £5.98/kg.

52-WEEK DATA FOR WEEK ENDING 28 DECEMBER 2008
OTHER CHEESE TYPES	Territorial**	Yr/Yr %	Soft Cheeses	Yr/Yr %	Processed	Yr/Yr %
Spend (£000s)	233,687	14.1	131,042	9.7	225,582	3.9
Volume (Tonnes)	39,390	-1.3	22,298	3.6	37,717	-5.0
Average Price (£/Kg)	5.93	15.6	5.88	5.9	5.98	9.4

** Please note, TNS definition of Territorial cheese includes 'other' British hard cheese which includes reduced-fat varieties of cheddar-type cheeses.