Description
Stay ahead of the curve and secure future growth for your business with Mintel’s UK Cheese Market Report 2023. Our full report is packed with consumer-led market intelligence, the latest trends and consumer behaviours affecting the UK cheese industry. Get a 360° view of the market including market size, market share, and a five year forecast.
Below, we’ve handpicked the key insights analysed in the full report and summarised the core topics.
Key Issues Covered in this Report
- Performance of the market and the impact of the rising cost of living, including trading down.
- Key trends in recent launch activity and future product development opportunities.
- Behaviours and attitudes related to eating and buying cheese, including focus on value, interest in innovative cheese experiences and potential to push nutritional benefits.
- Trading up opportunities in cheese with a return to real income growth.
- Main ways of eating/using cheese and potential to encourage more usage as an ingredient or snack.
UK Cheese Market Landscape
Despite falling volume sales, rising prices have propelled rapid value growth in the UK cheese market. This growth is forecast to continue, and Mintel forecasts that value sales will reach £4.5 billion by 2028.
UK cheese consumption remains high, with around nine in ten people eating or using it regularly. Cheddar remains the nation’s favourite cheese. Its affordability and scope for trading down helped it to gain market share in the income squeeze.
UK Cheese Market – Consumer Trends and Opportunities
The return of trading up
During the ongoing cost of living crisis, own-label cheese has massively increased its market share. However, as household finances begin to recover, there will be an opportunity for encouraging trading up. Many shoppers are keen to buy more specialty cheeses, continental varieties and branded options over own-label. A spotlight on flavour and how to make the most of it will not go amiss to boost relevance, with half of cheese buyers wanting tips on bringing out the taste of favourite cheeses.
Flexitarian flavours
Sustainability has taken a backseat for many amid the income squeeze, however, a longer-term uptick is predicted. This fuels interest in vegetable-led dishes, opening up opportunities also for cheese, with around two-fifths of buyers keen on more tips for using these dairy products in vegetable-based dishes. Many cheese brands offer recipe ideas online, but ensuring that these reach shoppers is crucial to fully capitalise on this opportunity.
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Expert Analysis from a Food & Drink Industry Specialist
This report, written by Richard Caines, a leading Food and Drink analyst, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight current trends in the UK Cheese market and add expert context to the numbers.
Real income growth will bring about more trading up opportunities in cheese. Adult snacking and cheese’s versatility as an ingredient will continue to support sales.
Richard Caines
Principal Analyst, UK Food & Drink Research
Table of Contents
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- Key issues covered in this Report
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Executive Summary
- Opportunities for the cheese market
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Graph 1: UK retail sales of cheese, by value , 2018-23
- Graph 2: retail value sales of cheese, by segment, 2021-23
- Graph 3: leading brands’ sales in the retail cheese market, by value, 2020/21-22/23
- What consumers want and why
- Graph 4: frequency of eating/using cheese, 2021-23
- Graph 5: types of cheese bought, 2021-23
- Graph 6: behaviours related to eating and buying cheese, 2023
- Graph 7: changes to cheese buying favoured if had more money, 2023
- Graph 8: how people have eaten/used cheese in the last three months, 2023
- Graph 9: attitudes towards cheese, 2023
- Innovation and marketing
- Graph 10: share of launches in the UK cheese market with vegan, dairy-free, and plant-based claims, 2018-23
- Graph 11: above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on cheese, by leading advertisers, 2022-23
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Market Dynamics
- Market size
- Graph 12: retail sales of cheese, by volume, 2018-23
- Graph 13: retail sales of cheese, by value , 2018-23
- Market forecast
- Graph 14: retail cheese sales’ annual growth, by value and volume, 2009-14
- Market segmentation
- Graph 15: retail value sales of cheese, by segment, 2021-23
- Market share
- Macro-economic factors
- Graph 16: GDP, 2021-23
- Graph 17: CPI inflation rate, 2021-23
- Graph 18: monthly farmgate milk price, 2022-23
- Graph 19: consumer price inflation for all food and cheese and curd, 2022-23
- Graph 20: “Have you been affected by any of these issues over the last two months? Please select all that apply.”, 2023
- Graph 21: the financial wellbeing index, 2016-23
- Graph 22: the financial confidence index, 2016-23
- Graph 23: what cheese products people would like to buy more if they had more money, 2023
- Social, environmental and legal factors
- Graph 24: how often people try to eat healthily, 2018-22
- Graph 25: trends in the age structure of the UK population, 2018-28
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What Consumers Want and Why
- Cheese usage and types bought
- Graph 26: frequency of eating/using cheese, 2021-23
- Graph 27: frequency of eating/using cheese, by age and presence of children in the household, 2023
- Graph 28: types of cheese bought, 2021-23
- Graph 29: buying of cheddar and regional British cheese, by age, 2023
- Graph 30: processed cheese usage by age and presence of children in the household, 2023
- Behaviours related to eating and buying cheese
- Graph 31: behaviours related to eating and buying cheese, 2023
- Graph 32: types of food and non-alcoholic drinks products bought compared to 12 months before, 2023
- Changes to cheese buying favoured with more money
- Graph 33: changes to cheese buying favoured if people had more money, 2023
- Graph 34: agreement that trying new cheeses brings excitement and that supermarket cheese aisles are boring, by age, 2023
- Graph 35: usage of and interest in plant-based cheese, by age, 2023
- How people eat/use cheese
- Graph 36: how people have eaten/used cheese in the last three months, 2023
- Attitudes towards cheese
- Graph 37: attitudes towards cheese, 2023
- Graph 38: agreement that using cheese in fusion food dishes is appealing, by generation, 2023
- Graph 39: frequency of eating cheese, by agreement that dairy cheese is a good source of important nutrients, 2023
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Innovation And Marketing Trends
- Launch activity and innovation
- Graph 40: Share of launches in the UK cheese market with vegan, dairy-free, and plant-based claims, 2018-23
- Graph 41: share of launches in the UK cheese market making selected ethical claims, 2018-23
- Graph 42: share of launches in the UK cheese market making economy and premium claims, 2018-23
- Graph 43: share of new product launches in the UK cheese market that are unflavoured,/plain, 2018-23
- Graph 44: share of new launches in the UK cheese market, by format, 2018-23
- Advertising and marketing activity
- Graph 45: above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on cheese, 2019-23
- Graph 46: above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on cheese, by leading advertisers, 2022-23
- Graph 47: total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on cheese, by month, 2020-23
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Appendix
- Supplementary data: market dynamics
- Supplementary data: Launch activity and innovation
- Supplementary data: advertising and marketing activity
- Market forecast data and methodology
- Report scope and definitions
- Methodology
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