How education can drive cheesemongers’ sales

It’s easy for the artisan cheese realm to seem overwhelming; swathes of talented cheesemakers creating growing ranges of fabulous cheese, and the techniques required to sell them at their best both a science and an art… Not to mention the retail tools to utilise in order to give your customer base what they want at any given moment.

There is undoubtedly a lot of work to be done, but support is on-hand, and by engaging with this ever-inspiring sector and equipping yourself and your team with the intel to succeed you can make a tangible difference in your cheese counter’s bottom line… and potential.

Building confidence in the team – and customer

“Education builds confidence and confidence drives sales,” says Stephen Fleming, owner of George & Joseph. “The more I train my team, the more knowledge they have that they are able to pass onto customers to inspire a purchase.” Stephen has found that some people can seem nervous when first entering the shop, and that an open approach can reap dividends – making the cheese counter, which can seem a “scary” thing, more accessible.

“This year I want to teach my team about having open-ended customers so they learn more about the person on the other side of the counter and what they want, as opposed to focusing on just the cheese.” Knowledge about the cheeses, how to care for them and how they can be best enjoyed is key and can allow staff members to have organic discussions with customers about what’s in the counter – rather than learning by rote.

Bringing staff into the world of cheesemaking itself, beyond the cheese counter, can play an important role in instilling confidence and in-depth knowledge. “Cheesemaker visits are a great way to instil knowledge into staff,” suggests Tracey Colley, founding director of the Academy of Cheese.

“Start with local cheesemakers and if budget or time doesn’t allow why not invite the cheesemakers into store to sample cheeses with customers and carve out some extra time for a staff tutorial before opening.” Keeping abreast of industry news is important, says Tracey, so read trade magazines, follow cheesemakers on social media and join the groups, and ask suppliers for updates when ordering. And, of course, The Academy of Cheese has plenty of resources to support your team’s learning journey.

“Many of the Academy of Cheese classroom classes are at a cheesemaker so you can get firsthand experience of the milking animals, cheese production, affinage and farm shop sales,” advises Tracey.

Build your own resources

For Mark Kacary, owner of The Norfolk Deli, immersion is the best way to educate oneself on the subject of cheese. “I could have gone down the route many will go down and sit in a classroom to ‘learn cheese’ but instead I decided to immerse myself in it,” he begins.

“For the last 12+ years, cheese has been the product I’ve lived and breathed every single day. That means tasting constantly, speaking directly to producers, understanding how and why cheeses are made, and most importantly seeing how customers react to them.

“You can read books (and I have), you can attend shows (and I do), but as with many things in life the only ‘real’ way to learn anything is to experience it yourself. the real education comes from standing behind a counter, cutting cheese, selling it, and having thousands of conversations about it. Let’s face it, passing the driving theory test doesn’t mean you’re a driver.”

It has to be an ongoing education, he believes. “If you think you’ve ‘learned cheese,’ you’ve already fallen behind. Cheese is constantly evolving new makers, new styles, changes in seasonality, milk quality, techniques. Even cheeses you think you know inside out can taste completely different depending on the time of year. You never finish learning and that’s exactly how it should be.”

Educating customers

“I very much see our job as gathering the knowledge and then to translate it into layman’s language,” continues Mark. “I do not see it as our job to impress or intimate with references to flavour nuances many may struggle to grasp. 

“Everything we do whether that’s on the counter, on the website, through email, or through socials is about making cheese more understandable and more enjoyable. That might be as simple as asking the right question: ‘What do you normally like?’ “From there, we guide. We suggest. We explain just enough to help someone make a better choice without overwhelming them. The guides we’ve created, the Cheesemonger Selection, the product descriptions - they all do the same job. They remove the guesswork.”

“This approach builds trust and trust drives everything. If a customer feels confident buying from you, they buy more, they come back, and they tell other people. But there’s another side to it as well. Most people don’t buy cheese because they don’t know what to choose. Remove that barrier, and you unlock demand that was already there.”

The fundamentals of selling cheese

Cheesemongering is not a simple case of sticking it on the shelf and promoting it well, reminds Tracey. “Cheese is a living, perishable ingredient and as such, requires a lot of care and attention to keep those delectable flavours locked in, that texture just right and most importantly, the cheese looking and tasting great,” she begins.

“Knowledge is key to understanding different cheeses and how they need to be looked after.” Without optimum cheese care, you won’t have cheeses to sell – or they will have past their peak, meaning that customers are unlikely to return.

“The job of the cheesemonger whether large or small-scale, is to treat the cheese with due care and respect, ensure their products reach the customer in perfect condition and are displayed in a manner that persuades the customer to purchase,” Tracey continues.

“There are best practices that will keep it, not only safe for consumption, but also in tip-top condition. These include identifying the current condition of the cheese, where best to store the cheese, how to cut the cheese and how best to wrap the cheese.”