The Unique Challenges of Selling Artisanal Cheese

Editor’s note: We are thrilled to welcome back contributor Felice Thorpe. She’s an experienced sales specialist and has worked with many artisanal brands including Laura Chenel, Marin French Cheese and Pt. Reyes Farmstead. She’s recently launched her own consulting business Felice Foods where she takes a holistic approach to sales and promotion.

When you spend time with artisan cheese entrepreneurs, you quickly realize most of these folks work long, hard hours to build their businesses for very little pay. Trust me, the artisan cheese industry is lacking in greedy people. Nevertheless, everyone should probably have the goal of selling artisan cheese be a lucrative one. Many cheese brands struggle for growth and profitability, it is a common discussion at conferences and tradeshows. This is partly due to the ingredients and inherent design of the product. It is a perishable, living and fragile food. Or maybe it is because a cheesemaker has created a cheese that is for a small niche consumer, or maybe a salesperson is chasing growth by increasing store counts and distribution, without doing the hard work of digging deep and creating memorability with buyers and consumers.

Regardless of the cause of the challenges of selling this special cheese, it is a sales and marketing experience that is shifting overnight, and the changes just keep coming.

History of Artisan Cheese in America

The American artisan cheese industry is relatively old. Marin French Cheese Company was founded in 1865 and is the oldest artisan cheese company still in operation in the U.S. It was a primary source of quick and portable protein for the early California laborers when eggs were in short supply. The original creamery still sells out their vintage cheese shop, although the boats that once would deliver cheese to the San Francisco dock workers have since been replaced with 18-wheeler trucks that pick up at the Marin French rural location and haul across the country to distributors. From cheese shop to boat to trucking, it is like a U.S. history case study of food distribution.

Lynn Giacomini Stray and her sisters have been running Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese for over 20 years. The company managed the original sales and distribution of their artisan cheese like a small experiment. They spoke to chefs, surveyed buyers, and learned from mentors. After perfecting a recipe for blue cheese, she loaded up a truck and hand-delivered cheese in her local area. Why a blue cheese? Stray said, “There was nothing of that type being made in California. As a new cheesemaker we focused on just one cheese, and we wanted to focus on the consistency and quality of that cheese. It was the only cheese we made for nine years”. Their sales model was designed to scale like a skate ramp, gradually and consistent.

Both of these successful companies have something in common, they went “deep” with sales before they went “wide.” Although you can find these cheeses at major retailers nationwide, you can also find them at farmer’s markets in the San Francisco Bay Area. They still understand how important it is to have an extensive brand presence in their “backyard.” These are where their most loyal consumers are, and superfans are the sales heartbeat of any artisan cheese company.

How Artisanal Cheese is Sold

As an artisan cheese company grows, they must face the wonky world of cheese distribution in this country as big, fragmented, and complicated as ours. A nationwide direct sprint strategy only works if you are Coca-Cola with its huge fleet of red delivery trucks. The common channels of distribution now include retail, wholesale, direct to store, club stores, direct to consumer, e-commerce, and foodservice. This omnichannel method of distribution is best grown in phases.

Phase 1: Local farmers market, wholesale, direct to store, direct to consumer, small e-commerce website.

Phase 2: Local distributors for independent retailers and local food service.

Phase 3: Regional and national distributors for multi-chain conventional retailers, national foodservice, club stores, and national e-commerce.

This strategic phasing of distribution must also include all work and food safety requirements including at least a third-party audit, HAACP, pest control, sanitation programs, COI, FDA registration, recall plan and a food defense plan. After much hard work and planning, completing all the phases of the sales, marketing, and distribution process will take many years.

Industry Experts Weigh in On the Future

Carlos Yescas photo credit Fernando Gomez Carbajal

Impacts of the Pandemic

I reached out to Carlos Yescas, social entrepreneur, cheese expert and Cheese Professor contributor, to get his viewpoint on the past, present, and future of selling artisan cheese. “It is super important to understand who are the true artisan producers and how they are having a hard time adapting to the new reality,” explains Yescas, adding, “Many of the smaller producers were not able to pivot to online sales like many in the specialty market did, nor have been able to regain the market share they lost in the hospitality industry, and many are worried that consumer preference has changed for products that are pre-cut and pre-wrapped and therefore if they are not able to provide this service they will be faced out of the market.”

He adds, “The pandemic has been great to create a market online for cheese, which didn’t exist in the past, but artisan producers are still wondering how to benefit from this change. I think artisan producers are still adapting and there may be a new space for entrepreneurs to find ways to help the small artisanal producers gain new markets. We may see an increase of curated monthly or bi-weekly services, more year-round farmer’s markets or venues with cheesemongers, and cheese boards that focus on quality instead of Instagram-ability.” This has left us in an uneasy position moving forward.

Current Trends

Yescas sees 3 trends impacting producers, mixed milk cheeses, flavored cheeses, and small format cheeses. “People love mixed milk cheese that has interesting flavor profiles and textures, cheeses in this category can be “entry-level” cheese for some people, or a way for goat’s milk cheese lovers to find new products made with sheep and cow and vice versa. This is a very exciting category for me, as I think it has the potential of fostering some amazing collaborations among cheesemakers”

He also sees the impact of Instagram. “Instagram has changed the game forever and cheeseboards that are beautiful will be here for a while, but many of the cheeses are lacking in the vibrancy of color or flavor and need to match with other foods to be unique. So, I think cheesemakers will start trying to incorporate more flavors and natural colors to cheeses to stand out from other products. I think there is a way to have wonderful traditional cheeses that are flavored and not gimmicky, cheeses with interesting rubs or covering are an obvious option.”

Other Impacts of the Pandemic

“The pandemic did change the way we congregate and plan to have food always at home so many people are looking for cheeses that are smaller in a format that can be eaten by one couple or small family in a week or two,” notes Yescas, adding, “So, I think there is a lot of small-format cheeses that will be coming to cater to this group.”

How will technology affect the selling of cheese next year? According to Yescas, “Zoom tasting, even if we are tired of virtual business meetings, will still be a thing. It has opened a whole new market for cheese stores and producers. I think we will see more collaborations in this space and hopefully smaller producers will be able to benefit from reaching a larger audience. Cheese producers will be able to benefit from reaching a larger audience.

While some cheesemakers ignore non-dairy, Yescas disagrees with this approach. “Cheese producers would do well to start focusing on how to differentiate themselves from non-dairy cheeses. This is an evolution in this category, and those products are starting to gain marketplace. Cheese producers need to be ready to convince consumers of why theirs is a better choice, may it be flavor, environmental impact, gastronomic value, or any other value that they think is important to them and their consumers.”

Tarush and Jasleen Agarwal photo credit Tanarak Photography

Distribution

Tarush and Jasleen Agarwal are the founders of Sach Paneer. Their paneer brand is only a couple of years old and gained most of its distribution during the pandemic. Tarush Agarwal says, “I think having a diverse distribution model is key, especially building a direct-to-consumer channel. Prior to the pandemic, over 50% of our business was food service which disappeared overnight once the lockdowns started. Although we always wanted to be a direct-to-consumer channel, the pandemic forced us to prioritize this part of our business. Perishable shipping is quite complicated and expensive. It took us several months to iron out the kinks. We now ship to consumers nationally and our direct-to-consumer business is a cornerstone of how we engage and communicate with our consumers directly. Having a direct relationship also helps us understand from our consumers what's working, what’s not and also what they’d like us to build.”

He adds, “One such example is that our consumers wanted us to build a subscription model so they can get our product delivered on a regular basis. We got that feedback directly from customers and we were able to build that. It’s working well and growing tremendously. In summary- based on my experience I can say, consumer behavior has changed significantly. Consumers want quality but also convenience and it’s in the best interest of cheese brands to adapt so they can cater to that change.”

The Importance of Branding

Tarush Agarwal is convinced that their company values and brand purpose will lead them into the future, “I think a greater emphasis needs to be placed on finding your brand voice and your place in the minds of consumers. Establishing why we exist, and how what we are doing is different and unique is super important. I personally think, more than ever, consumers care about brand stories that are genuine. There are always going to be ups and downs in business, including changes in the competitive landscape. However, brands that have a foundational connection with the consumer are going to fare better than the brands that don’t.” He adds, at Sach, we are focused on making great-tasting paneer but we also care deeply about organic farming, the well-being of animals, using organic ingredients, and giving back to the community. This is the foundation of us, and hence we named our company, Sach, which means honest in “Hindi.”

Creating New Products

Joe Alstat is the cheesemaker at Grey Barn on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. I was able to visit him this summer and catch up on how their cheese production and sales have been. Grey Barn is a gorgeous organic farm and creamery sitting in green and flowered fields near the ocean, with friendly chickens that run up to greet you. Interestingly, Martha’s Vineyard population normally changes throughout the year depending on seasonal visitors from 20,000 people to 200,000. These regular extreme peaks and valleys reminded me of the artificial peaks and valleys due to pandemic buying. Alstat was not sure what to expect when the shut-down hit but says,

“We thought everything was going to change but the only wholesaler we had completely drop off was a restaurant supplier. Grocery and cheese shops were still open and our farm stand had lines out the door. I made a new cheese, Banneker Cheddar, because I thought our supply chain was going to be wrecked and we wanted to make a cheese we could age and be accessible to local schools and families. I am still happy that we decided to make a cheddar but it turned out it was not totally necessary. My future planning will still include our new Banneker Cheddar, and I might not have made it otherwise.”

There are two archetypal ways to sell and market artisan cheese in America. The first is data driven- the sales pursuit is a mathematical and commercial path based upon competitive sales analysis and market measurement. The second is on-the-job and cultural immersion like, tastings, professional relationships, and cheese attributes education.

The Big Picture

Over the past two years, I have realized there is a lot to consider. Selling and marketing artisan cheese is part of a broader net of human activity, shaped by environmental, social, and economic concerns. Defining your mission or company purpose, is an impactful way producers can connect with their buyers and consumers. Consider involving your farmers, sales team and cheesemakers as you clarify your communication around these issues. Gen Z are our next artisan cheese fans and they are well-versed in “purpose-driven”, and the meaning behind supporting those companies that serve a bigger mission. While I spend time watching the distribution of cheese make its way around the world, I am also now spending time learning to adjust to the new journey of selling cheese.