Farmhouse cheesemakers smiling all the way to market

Wider distribution, increased listings and marketing initiatives such as the formation of Irish Cheese Direct, helped drive a 43 per cent rise in retail sales of Irish farmhouse cheese to €4 million here last year, according to figures from Bord Bia.

Exports for the same period were approximately €4.5 million. The UK is the sector's biggest export market followed by the US and continental Europe.

There are currently about 50 farmhouse cheesemakers in Ireland producing in excess of 150 types of cheese from cow, goat, sheep and buffalo milk.

What defines a “farmhouse” cheese is the provenance of the raw materials, its distinctive appearance, flavour and texture and its “hands on” small scale, production process.

The origins of the industry go back to the 1970s when its development was fed from two sources – Dutch and German settlers here who began cheesemaking and Irish dairy farmers facing an uncertain future in milk production who diversified into cheese production.

The first indigenous producers were Norman and Veronica Steele, who launched Milleens in 1978. They were quickly followed by Coolea, St Killian, Cashel Blue and Cooleeney.

The farmhouse cheese industry is now more than 30 years old. However the industry remains small in scale, with patchy distribution, producers who aree often more product than market focused.

Big competition
The launch of the marketing/ distribution cooperative Irish Cheese Direct in 2010 has begun to change this.

"The tradition was for producers to hand over sales and distribution to a third party and to have little or no connection with retailers," says Sarah Furno whose parents, Jane and Louis Grubb, founded Cashel Blue in 1984.

“It was really difficult to expand their market share on that basis as distributors were handling many different lines and retailers were most interested in the best deals.

“On top of this the producers were facing big competition from imported speciality cheeses even though they were not farmhouse products by scale or provenance.

"In October 2010, a small group of producers with complementary products got together to form Irish Cheese Direct," says Furno. "This gave us sufficient scale to approach the retailers in our own right. We are now dealing direct with Tesco and SuperValu, and our products have nationwide listings. We estimate that 20 per cent of the increase in farmhouse cheese sales last year is due to the group's increased distribution."

According to research from Bord Bia, the typical farmhouse cheese customer is aged over 55 and fits into the AB social classification.

This customer group accounts for roughly 47 per cent of total purchases. Those over 65 years of age buy the most farmhouse cheese, those under 27 years the least.

“Growth is being driven by an increase in the number of households purchasing farmhouse cheese along with an increase in purchase frequency and greater availability,” says Eimear O’Donnell, sector manager consumer dairy, Bord Bia.

Vibrant industry
Veronica Steele of Milleens believes an additional factor is that consumers have become more educated about cheese.

“I think they recognise there is just no comparison between a factory cheese and a hand produced cheese when it comes to taste and they are willing to pay for superior quality,” she says.

Marion Roeleveld, chairperson of the Irish cheese producers group, Cáis, attributes the growth to "people becoming more aware of supporting locally produced foods while TV chefs have also had a lot to do with it. They have really brought the cheeses to consumers' attention," she says.

Roeleveld's view is shared by Elisabeth Ryan, wholesale manager of Sheridans Cheesemongers. "It's to do with an increased interest in food in general by Irish people," she says. "The 'cookery show industry' has certainly played a part and people have become concerned about where their food comes from and interested in the story behind it. It seems to me the market has almost split in two with the processed cheeses at one end and the artisan cheeses at the other."

The Irish farmhouse cheese industry is vibrant with new producers trickling into the sector each year. At the other end of the scale many of the long established companies now have second generations immersed in the business.

“My parents were the first to develop their particular style of blue cheese but we have many imitators now and have to take steps to ensure Cashel Blue remains strong and growing,” Furno says.

“We have tackled this by changing our routes to market. As a result we now have our own account manager in Tesco UK (very unusual for a small Irish company) and our product for the US is now being handled along side Kerrygold by the Irish Diary Board. That’s a big coup for a small company.”