Source: Internet

Patterned on Chinese tofu and targeted at the Chinese

According to Arla Kitchen, a web page (www.arlakitchen.com/web_pc/) created by the company especially for Naifu Cheese, the product's key features are:

• Appearance: similar to tofu - white with a certain glossiness

• Texture: firm, fine and smooth

• Smell: real milk smell, no fishy smell

• Taste: like eating egg white - smooth and elastic

• Flavour: light milk smell, no conflicts with salty taste

The product's ingredients are given as cow milk, whey protein, edible salt and nisin: “1 piece of this cheese is equal to 1 L milk, no need to be afraid of getting fat,” the text stresses.

In addition, the Arla Kitchen page offers a range of recipes to display its usage - Healthy Chinese Meal, Healthy Hot Pot, Healthy Western Meal and Light Meal etc. Food enthusiasts, fashion bloggers and star chefs are featured, making positive comments and recommendations. It is evident that the product is aimed at the Chinese generation born post-80s/90s who are looking for healthy lifestyles.

Currently, Naifu Cheese is mainly targeted at the Beijing market: the 340g pack is to retail here at RMB24, and for RMB19.5 on Taobao.com, according to the page. Restaurants and recipes that use Naifu Cheese are highlighted to enable consumers to sample the product.

A bright market prospect in China

According to statistics from Euromonitor, in 2005-2015, the consumption of cheese rose in China:

• Volume: a CAGR of 18.3%

• Value: a CAGR of 27.8%

Over the period 2008-2015, China’s imports of cheese increased from 13,900 tonnes to 75,600 tonnes, a CAGR of 27.4%. The corresponding value went up from USD74 million to USD348 million, a CAGR of 24.8%.

Trade sources highlight 2 key factors pushing up cheese consumption:

Foodservice growth: this channel is estimated to make up about 60% of the market, with western fast food and bakery chains key. In 2010-2015, Pizza Hut expanded from 510 to 1,400 outlets, McDonalds from 1,287 to nearly 2,300. Meanwhile, bakery industry sales had reached over USD13.7 billion (RMB89.9 billion) in 2015

Retail making up about 40% of demand, driven by individuals who could be termed "middle class", influenced by western lifestyle and seeking healthy and nutritional food options

Overall cheese consumption in China is estimated at about 100,000 tonnes, about 0.07 kg per capita on average (vs. 2.26 kg in Japan and 2.57 kg in South Korea). The split is approximately 70% processed cheese vs. 30% natural cheese: the brand leader in retail is Milkana, the processed cheese from Savencia: its market share is given at 20.7% with the market's top 10 including the key dairy players Bright Dairy, Yili, Mengniu and Beijing Sanyuan.

The development of cheese consumption in China reflects local consumers' preference for bland flavours and avoidance of strong tastes, hence the importance of processed cheese: this product is designed specifically to fit in with this market background, as an innovative combination of traditional Chinese tofu and western cheese.

Yet to date only 2 stores on Taobao.com are selling this cheese, and the company's flagship store on Tmall.com has yet to market it. Whether such a low profile market entry strategy will work remains to be seen.

This article comes from Dairy Products China News 1606, CCM

About CCM:

CCM is the leading market intelligence provider for China’s agriculture, chemicals, food & ingredients and life science markets. Founded in 2001, CCM offers a range of data and content solutions, from price and trade data to industry newsletters and customized market research reports. Our clients include Monsanto, DuPont, Shell, Bayer, and Syngenta. CCM is a brand of Kcomber Inc.

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Tag: Cheese  milk

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