SF-October-2020

specialityfoodmagazine.com 33 autumn, plus a festive Christmas box that will celebrate the traditional cheese board. To maximise sales, a subscription service is also in the works for 2021. Although Vickie and co-founder Nick Copland capitalised on the changes in consumer behaviour, the boxes have still been popular as lockdown has eased, proving that they’re not just a flash in the pan. “It has completely changed our business and been a great success.” Going virtual Despite Homage2Fromage’s victory with direct-to-consumer, many cheesemakers rely significantly on events, shows and awards – nearly all of which have been cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. The International Cheese & Dairy Awards, FarmShop & Deli Show, Food & Drink Expo and British Cheese Awards are just some of the important events that were struck off the calendars of Britain’s cheesemakers. “Industry events and awards during the year provide great platforms for the cheese industry to showcase and celebrate both British cheese and cheese from international suppliers,” explains Sarah de Wit. “Shows provide great opportunities for retailers, agents and suppliers to meet, greet andmove business forward as well within a focused industry setting.” That’s why Sarah came together with fellow veteran of the British cheese industry Nigel Pooly to create the Virtual Cheese Awards in the hopes of raising awareness of the diversity of British cheeses. “We really are leading the world with our exceptional cheesemakers and team Virtual Cheese Awards are very proud to shine a light on them,” Sarah says. The awards, held in July, were hugely successful. Out of more than 300 entries, Renegade Monk by Feltham’s Farmwas crowned the winner. Sarah described the team as “a fantastic example of a small artisan cheesemaker that is reinventing what a British cheese should be”. Marcus Ferguson, founder of Feltham’s Farm, said the teamwas over the moon to have won the inaugural awards. The team sold its first cheese in 2017, and last year sold just 6,000 cheeses. “We watched the judging live as a family, crowded around a computer screen. There was a refreshing transparency to the judging process, and it was fascinating to hear all of the cheeses analysed by such knowledgeable and unflinching judges. “Winning this award is huge for a tiny, artisan producer like us. We all need all the help we can get right now, and we hope that the awards will encourage the public to keep buying artisan cheese from small outlets and not return to the supermarket habits of old!” Local shops have certainly received a pandemic-related boost – but that’s just one of the changes to consumer shopping habits that suppliers need to consider going forwards. “What are consumers now needing?” asks Sarah. “More eat-at-home treats? Smaller pack sizes, perhaps? Eating out at home? Success and growth will be about understanding the changes that have occurred and working hard to meet the needs of the customer as this continuously changes, whether customer is defined as the restaurant, pub, major retailer or direct consumer.” New launches A pandemic might seem like a strange time to change a business model, launch a product, or start a brand newmarketing campaign, but that has not stopped Britain’s cheesemakers fromdoing just that in 2020. Belton Farm announced the first TV appearance of its popular Red Leicester cheese Red Fox in June as part of its There’s More to Cheese than Cheddar campaign. Having seen strong growth over the past year, with a nearly 30% increase in value in the past 12 months, Belton was keen to drive further awareness of its award- winning cheese. Shepherds Purse also made its first foray into the world of television advertising after it applied for and won a Sky AdSmart campaign for a national TV ad. “It was a huge boost inmorale. We still had to find the resource to create the advert itself, but it was a bigmoment for us and energising for this team,” says Caroline. The team focused its campaign on its newly launched Fettle cheese, which was brought forward to support the struggling sheepmilk industry. Simon Stott, Shepherds Purse’s sheepmilk producer, was “distraught” after 20 of his 22 customers cancelled their milk orders at the start of lockdown. “This left him with a huge excess of milk and no home for it and facing increasingly horrendous options,” Caroline explains. In order to increase its milk intake, Shepherds Purse launched its feta- style cheese, Fettle, despite having no packaging, no label design and no boxes for distribution ready. “We had to have faith that if we do the work, create great cheese, let our retailers and customers know, then we have a real chance of making a difference here, and help to sustain our sheep milk producers.” Caroline describes the “incredible” response from retailers and customers alike. Web sales immediately rocketed, and the launch led to a feature on Channel 5’s This Week On the Farm in June. Despite the initial drop in sales, Shepherds Purse always believed that consumer demand would be restored. “Demand for quality, delicious British and local food would return, and routes that had been broken would have to re-route. So as the team that was left, we worked hard to transformwhere we needed to.” So how is the British cheese industry situated as it heads into the key Christmas period? While lockdown restrictions lifted somewhat over the summer, there is still uncertainty as a possible second spike of the virus looms. The deadline for a Brexit deal is also on the horizon on the 31st of December. Yet thanks to the way the industry came together throughout the lockdown in spring, cheesemakers are hopeful. “British speciality cheesemakers are an incredible community of proud, passionate and skilful makers, inextricably bound to agriculture,” says Caroline. “We are supported by excellent retailers who are passionate about bringing customers together with great produce and countless other organisations and businesses who enhance the speciality cheese world.” When times get tough, the artisan cheese industry has shown that by dreaming up inventive routes to market, launching exciting new products and lifting one another up, they can survive and thrive. British speciality cheesemakers are an incredible community of proud, passionate and skilful makers SHEPHERDS PURSE’S YORKSHIRE FETTLE