Supermarket Perimeter - May 2022 - 32

Deli
PAIRING UP
Cross-merchandising fine cheeses with
wine, beer and other beverages is a
great way to stimulate interest in the
category. Here are tips from Wisconsin
Cheese on what drinks works best with
some top cheeses:
Aged cheddar: There's a lot of flavor
and texture going on with aged cheddar,
so you want a drink that stands up to
that but doesn't overpower it. We like
off-dry, mature beverages that have
just a touch of sweetness like saison ale,
cider, bock and Belgian ales. For wine,
we recommend riesling, chardonnay
and champagne (whites) and syrah,
pinot noir and chianti (reds). Bourbon
and single malt scotch are always sure
bets too.
Baby swiss: It's hard to do baby swiss
wrong, unless you try to pair it with
something too sweet. We never
hesitate to pull out the wine and beer
for collaborations with baby swiss.
Beers that pair well include stout,
porter, weiss beer and lager. Wines
that enjoy babysitting: oaked or
unoaked chardonnay, grüner veltliner,
champagne and cava.
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES SPECIALTY CHEESE CONSUMERS OFTEN FACE is
navigating the wide assortment of options available to them and getting started with the
discovery of new favorites, said Jennifer Englert, senior marketing manager, specialty
cheese, for Montreal-based Saputo.
In some categories, like Italian cheese (and more specifically, Parmesan), consumers
plan to make a purchase in advance, but frequently don't decide on the brand of cheese
to purchase until they're standing in front of the specialty cheese case or at the point of
purchase online.
In other categories (goat, for example), specialty cheese can be more of an impulse
buy and consumers are triggered by an impulse, craving or recipe.
When it comes to retail merchandising, Englert said, Saputo begins its process in the
early stages of the consumers' decision-making process, seeking to inspire them and
reduce barriers to conversion.
The company accomplishes that by placing recipes and brand information in places
where consumers are looking for inspiration or tools they're using to plan mealtime.
" Our goal is to reassure consumers that we're the authorities in our categories, and to
create trusted brands to help guide their decision-making process, " Englert said.
Saputo uses paid search to ensure it's answering common consumer questions
related to specialty cheese and its brands. Next, the company makes sure its brands can
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Gouda: Depending on whether your
gouda is young, aged, smoked or flavor
infused, we tend to enjoy it with slightly
sweet beverages that complement its
nutty, slightly fruity flavor. Drinks that
fit that bill include bock, brown ale,
farmhouse hard cider, gewürztraminer,
müller-thurgau, riesling, champagne or
cava and all different young to long-inthe-tooth
sherries.
Parmesan: Serious cheese deserves
serious drinks, so we like to pair
parmesan with chianti, pinot noir,
malbec, syrah, champagne, prosecco
and riesling. We also like the strong
stuff with it including grappa, nocino,
sherry and madeira.
NEW AFRICA - STOCK.ADOBE.COM
Cheese
merchandising
BY ANDY NELSON

http://www.supermarketperimeter.com

Supermarket Perimeter - May 2022

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