ReSEARCH ARTICLE ▲ Sampling and farm stories prompt consumers to buy specialty

Barbara A. Reed Christine M. Bruhn ▼

California specialty makers need information on what drives product sales so they can effectively market their products. Focus group and telephone research revealed Over the past decade, consumers have developed a taste for “artisan” or specialty cheeses. Left, In focus groups, consumers said they rely on store staff and samples to help them choose that specialty cheese consumers new specialty cheeses. Right, Most specialty cheeses are displayed without formal packaging have a strong preference for sam- or fully visible labels. Case cards often describe cheeses without including the price. pling cheese before making a pur- chase. Consumers also rely heavily on staff recommendations to select California’s specialty cheeses are de- on high-end specialty foods, including cheese. They appreciate unlimited scribed as “artisan” cheeses; they are cheese. Although we did not do sampling in an unhurried, low-pres- made by hand in limited quantities and a demographic profile of our inter- sure environment. Specialty cheese possess unique taste and quality char- viewees, in general they were educated, acteristics that differentiate them from well-traveled and made conscious consumers consider themselves other cheeses. Likewise, “farmhouse” or choices about spending “food experimenters”; they value “farmstead” cheeses are made with milk more than the average consumer on narrative descriptions about where from the farm, on the farm. high-quality food. and how the cheese was made and Between 1993 and 2001, production Vertical integration of dairy produc- are not price sensitive in this area of of Hispanic cheeses almost doubled, tion and specialty cheese processing their food purchases. increasing from 34.9 million pounds allows dairy farmers to set prices that to 70.6 million pounds. Production of cover their production costs, rather alifornia’s dairy industry is second other specialty cheeses grew from than act as price takers in the commod- only to Wisconsin’s in cheese 26.9 million pounds to 54.5 million ity marketplace. Some California dairy Cproduction. According to the California pounds. Between 2000 and 2001, His- producers have capitalized on the ex- Department of Food and Agriculture panic cheese production increased by pansion of this market and are creating (CDFA), California produced more 8%, and other specialty cheeses by 10% unique, handmade cheeses, in small- than 1.6 billion pounds of cheese in (CDFA 1998, 2002). scale farmstead operations following 2001. Production is primarily in food The California Milk Advisory Board European traditions. For example, the service (commodity) cheeses such as (CMAB) surveyed more than 50 lead- Pedrozo Dairy and Cheese Company cheddar (34%), Monterey jack (11%) ing restaurants in San Francisco and the near Orland makes a Gouda-style farm- and mozzarella (44%). Hispanic cheeses Napa and Sonoma valley wine regions stead cheese from a small herd of Jersey (including queso fresco, panela, cotija about artisan cheese use in 1995 and cows grazed on pasture. The spring and queso blanco) (4%), other Italian again in 2000. In 1995, none of the res- milk is used for the production of a cheeses (including ricotta, provolone, taurants had a cheese course, and few seasonally available cheese, aged for mascarpone and cacavallo) (3%) and all artisan cheeses appeared on menus. 1 year, called Northern Gold-Black Butte other specialty cheeses (3%) are tracked Now, nearly half of the restaurants list Reserve. The Fiscalini Cheese Company separately. artisan cheeses on the menu as ingre- in Modesto makes traditional 60-pound Commodity cheeses are used for dients, and two-thirds feature cheese wheels of cheddar from their Holstein food service products such as fast-food courses (CMAB 2002). California’s ar- herd; the cheese is cloth-wrapped and tacos or pizza, while specialty cheeses tisan cheeses are also making inroads aged between are a general category of unique chees- into specialty retailers such as Harry 18 months and 2 years. Redwood Hill es. For example, Parmigiano Reggiano and David, and Dean and DeLuca. The Farm in Sebastopol makes several is a well-known specialty cheese made increase in consumption of specialty goat cheeses in a French style. One is a to very exacting standards within one cheeses over the last decade may be California Crottin similar to the French region of Italy; it is identified by the tra- due in part to California’s economic Crottin de Chavignol — a small, cylin- ditional large rounds of cheese stamped boom during the 1990s. People who had drical cheese with a golden-colored ed- with the consortium name. Many of disposable income chose to spend it ible rind. Current U.S. consumption of cheese A B is estimated at about 30 pounds per per- son annually, a 20% increase since 1990. In California, mozzarella — primarily destined for pizza — represented 44% of all cheese produced in 2001. U.S. con- sumption still lags behind traditional cheese-loving countries such as , where the average annual cheese con- Fig. 1. (A) Specialty cheese purchases as a percentage (by weight) of all cheese purchases sumption is 54 pounds per person made by specialty cheese consumers and (B) frequency of specialty cheese purchases, (CMAB 2002). reported in telephone survey (n = 47). Our project was conducted under a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Western Region Sustainable Agriculture participated in four focus groups. Both Currently, cheeses made from raw milk Producer/Marketing Grant, to assist the telephone questionnaires and focus and sold in the United States must be small-scale artisan cheese makers. The group questions were developed with aged for at least 60 days. Many produc- objective was to gather information the assistance of dairy farmers who also ers of artisan cheeses want to preserve about the shopping habits and opinions produce specialty cheese, CMAB mar- traditional cheese-making methods that of specialty cheese consumers that will keting personnel and independent food include the use of raw milk, although help cheese makers develop successful industry consultants. the debate in the United States centers strategies to target that market segment. on whether the 60-day aging require- Not your typical shopper We conducted telephone surveys, focus ment effectively reduces pathogens. At group interviews and in-store consumer Before the telephone interviews be- this time, cheeses made from unpas- evaluations of point-of-sale materials. gan, consumers were read a definition teurized milk (either U.S. or imported The telephone survey and focus of specialty cheese. It read in part: ”An origin) must be aged a minimum of 60 group participants were recruited example of specialty cheese is a farm- days to be legal. We included a question through sign-up sheets posted at spe- stead cheese made in limited quantities about raw milk cheeses in the phone cialty food departments in one gour- by hand. It can be imported or domes- survey and a more general question in met specialty store in Chico and one tic, is usually sold by the pound and the focus groups to learn whether spe- grocery store each in Sacramento and the customer decides how much he or cialty cheese consumers perceived them San Francisco. Forty-seven telephone she will buy.” The telephone interviews as a health risk. interviews were conducted in which revealed that the self-identified spe- Consumption of cheeses made from consumers were asked about the types cialty cheese consumers are dedicated raw milk was not a concern for the ma- of cheese they purchased, the coun- to the specialty-cheese market segment, jority of people we spoke with. Among try or region of origin, frequency and with 48% purchasing specialty cheeses those interviewed, 45% did not know if quantities purchased, and awareness of (rather than commodity cheeses) 75% the cheeses they purchased were made cheese manufacturing practices related of the time (fig. 1A). Nine percent shop with pasteurized milk and hadn’t ever to raw milk. Of those surveyed, 34 also for specialty cheeses several times each thought about it. Another 38% knew week, and another 38% at least once a they purchased raw milk cheeses and TABLE 1. Percentage of specialty cheese week (fig. 1B). These buying habits are did not have health-related concerns consumers (n = 47) who purchased not typical of today’s consumer, who (table 1). various cheese, including those made looks for convenience in food purchas- Varieties purchased. Most varieties from non-pasteurized (raw) milk ing and preparation. Specialty cheese of specialty cheese, as categorized by consumers are buying small quanti- production method, were consumed by Milk class % ties (75% usually purchased less than more than 90% of those interviewed. Cow 100 a pound) and are concerned about its Examples of cheese production types Goat or sheep 96 freshness and quality. When asked to are veined cheeses (), soft Manufacturing method identify the cheese’s country or region surface-ripened cheeses () or fresh Aged hard cheeses of origin, most identified Europe (57%), cheeses (chevre). The only category (Parmesan, Asiago, Gouda) 98 Veined cheeses followed by California (32%) and other with a consumption rating below 90% (Roquefort, Stilton, blue) 94 United States (11%). was “fresh cheeses” (68%). This cat- Soft surface-ripened cheeses Raw milk cheeses. The USDA has egory may have been underreported, (Brie, ) 91 considered changing laws related to the as the majority responded in the affir- Fresh cheeses (chevre, queso blanco) 68 production of raw milk cheeses (those mative to buying goat and sheep milk Pasteurization process made from unpasteurized milk) because cheeses, and the majority of goat milk Purchased raw milk cheeses (any type)? Yes 38 fresh cheeses (those that are not aged) cheeses on the market are fresh chees- No 17 made from raw milk have been associ- es. Consumers may have been less Don’t know 45 ated with outbreaks of foodborne ill- familiar with the other fresh cheeses, ness, including salmonella and lis-teria. such as the Hispanic-style cheese queso fresco, that were also mentioned to de- scribe the category. Focus groups themes Each of the four focus groups con- sisted of eight or nine people who were paid honoraria and served a selection of specialty cheeses for participating. The meetings were tape-recorded with Fig. 2. Importance of sociopolitical factors influencing specialty cheese purchases among focus the participants’ permission, and full group participants (in some cases, figure may not add up to 100% due to rounding error). transcripts were created. We used fo- cus groups to determine how specialty decisions. Specialty cheese consum- is on the quality and not the quantity cheese consumers perceive, feel and ers expressed a strong preference for of food they consume. think about how they make cheese sampling cheese before they purchase The focus group responses about purchasing decisions. Common themes it and said they use tasting and staff food safety were consistent with the and ideas were extracted from each of recommendations for cheese selection. telephone surveys. Most specialty the transcripts (Krueger 1994). Consum- Consumers indicated that they appreci- cheese consumers are not concerned ers were asked open-ended questions ate unlimited sampling in an unhurried, about the potential health issues re- about how they use and choose cheeses; low-pressure environment and consider lated to consuming raw milk cheese. the type of information they look for on themselves “food experimenters.” Store Those who choose to purchase raw package labels; their thoughts about the staff members can have a significant milk cheeses often do so for a per- quality, flavor or safety of cheeses made impact on sales, both through a high ceived complexity of flavor not found from raw milk versus pasteurized milk; level of service and a broad knowledge in pasteurized cheeses, or because they and what kind of information they want of their products. If a cheese was highly believe the process is more natural or from store staff. We also asked if there recommended by the sales staff, and traditional. was anything about dairy products and if the staff provided a sample for tast- Cost not an issue health that influences purchase deci- ing, consumers we spoke with said sions. they often purchased a type of cheese Few consumers in any of the groups Participants were asked to describe (blue-veined cheeses, for example) they volunteered information about the pric- where their cheese comes from (if they ordinarily wouldn’t buy or had never ing or cost of artisan cheeses, except if knew) and after some meditation, to tried. They often left the store with one they were buying for children. These share their vision of how and where or two cheeses not on their shopping list consumers make no effort to economize the cheese is made — even if they had as a result of the staff recommendations when they are buying artisan cheeses, never seen a cheese-making room. They or sampling. although a few of them have experi- were given a chance to create questions Participants consumed cheese as enced sticker shock when they reached for cheese makers and dairy producers an appetizer, ingredient in salad and the checkout stand. For this market seg- in the format of, “If I could talk to the cooked dishes, and snack food. They ment, purchasing decisions are driven person who actually made the cheese, I also included cheeses as a dinner by the occasion and are guided by fla- would want to know . . .” or “If I could course — a practice in European house- vor and use. In most specialty cheese talk to the farmer who owned the cows holds and restaurants that is just now cases, where the cheese is displayed in that provided the milk for my cheese becoming popular in the United States. whole wheels and cut and wrapped to I would want to know . . .” Finally, we Specialty cheese consumers told us order, prices are not displayed. The buy- asked some sociopolitical questions they are not reading labels to find low- er must ask about the price if it concerns about food production and buying fat and low-sodium cheeses. They look them. Retail prices for specialty cheeses habits. Consumers were asked to rate for a description of the cheese flavor range anywhere from $6 per pound to the importance of buying foods that are and characteristics, country of origin, more than $30 per pound. organic, locally produced, purchased storage, ripening and aging informa- Sociopolitical concerns directly from family-owned farms and tion, food pairings and “sell by” date. produced in a sustainable manner. Once Fat content confirms quality and taste Focus group participants were asked they had rated the importance of each attributes, and participants specifi- to use a printed form to rank the impor- sociopolitical question from “very im- cally avoid purchasing low-fat cheeses. tance of several sociopolitical factors portant” to “don’t think about it,” we These consumers are aware of the con- related to food production and pur- discussed their responses as a group. sequences of excessive consumption of chases, such as potential health benefits, “Food experimenters” like samples certain foods and believe the quality sustainable and organic farming and of a high-fat food must be very high locally produced food. After they wrote Responses from the focus groups before they will commit an allotment of down their responses, we discussed the established that consumers do not rely fat and calories to cheese. Many of the rankings so people could qualify their on packaging to make initial purchasing participants mentioned that their focus choices. Most of the sociopolitical issues Specialty cheese consumers said they received a very important or important appreciate narratives rating (fig. 2). about how, where and by whom the In qualifying their statements, spe- cheese was made. cialty cheese consumers brought up two Makers of farmstead factors that override their philosophy cheeses — made when it comes to their buying habits. Advisory Board California Milk from milk produced on the farm where First, their purchasing decisions are cheese is made — tempered by time constraints and con- can take advantage venience. For example, 50% of the San of this marketing opportunity. Francisco participants thought buying Some California farmstead cheeses include: locally produced foods was important 1. Serena, Three Sisters Farmstead Cheese Co. or very important, and 38% thought that 2. Gouda (medium), Winchester Cheese Co. buying direct from family-owned farms 3. St. John, Fangundes Old-World Cheese. was important or very important. While 4. Northern Gold, Pedrozo Dairy & Cheese. these numbers reflect strong support for 5. St. George, Joe Matos Cheese Factory. 6. Giana, Spring Hill Jersey Cheese. locally grown foods, they also indicate 7. Cheddar (sharp), Bravo Farms. that direct access to farms is more of a 8. Cloth-wrapped Cheddar, Fiscalini Farms. challenge for residents of San Francisco 9. Original Blue, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese. than of Sacramento or Chico. The aver- age response across all groups for these provide milk for their cheese, respon- and rolling green hills. Traditional Euro- two questions was higher, at 68% and dents mentioned antibiotics and hor- pean cheese shops such as Neal’s Yard 80%, respectively. San Francisco impor- mones 12 times and grazing and pasture Dairy in London were also mentioned. tance ratings for the non-access issues nine times. This love of narrative is a marketing of organic and sustainable food produc- opportunity not to be missed by farm- Narrative descriptions sell tion and health benefits of foods were as stead cheese makers. Stories about the high as the other focus groups. Focus group participants also told cheese makers and their farms should In the list of sociopolitical questions us that effective “narratives” about a be conveyed to the customer. Retail provided to participants, we did not product would influence their purchase, shops can use feature boards or descrip- include a question about product qual- even if they were not initially inclined tive case cards, or the store staff can re- ity or freshness. However, all the groups to buy the cheese. For example, one late the narratives directly to customers. qualified their comments on socio- said, “I don’t think you can underesti- A feature board is a chalk or dry-erase political issues with the statement that mate narrative. You hear a story about board hung behind the counter with the actual and perceived quality and a 90-year-old cheese maker up in the weekly specials or featured items writ- freshness of the product were more im- mountains, and even if it’s really strong ten on it. A case card hangs or stands in portant factors than whether it is organ- cheese that I might not normally buy, I a refrigerator case (maybe on a peg in ic, sustainable or made locally. Specialty might try it. It has everything to do with the cheese) and is usually large enough cheese consumers may try to support the person selling me the cheese.” to provide a verbal description of the organic or local production, but not at Another noted, “I usually like to cheese, its origin and some food pair- the expense of perceived quality, fresh- know where the cheese comes from, like ings. ness or flavor. Here, again, their ideals where the wine comes from. In Europe, Cheese makers had hoped the fo- were not always perfectly reflected in certain cheeses have to come from cows cus groups could help guide them in their shopping habits. Furthermore, that are grazing at a certain altitude or designing effective labels that would “quality” and “freshness” were self-de- higher. That’s where the tradition comes highlight dairy practices. We found that fined terms that we did not ask partici- in, which has lasted for several centu- labels are not essential to the purchasing pants to explain. ries.” decisions of specialty cheese consumers, Fifty-three percent of the participants “The best cheese I ever had,” another but they do want accurate and sufficient rated “Buying foods that have potential participant noted, “was probably while information (including narratives) to health benefits” as very important, and I was driving across the German bor- guide cheese selection. This may also be 41% said it was important. Related to der to Austria, and I stopped by a little provided by store staff or written on a health concerns, participants brought farm that made everything by hand. feature board or up questions about the source of the They had all kinds of cheeses they make refrigerator case cards. milk used for cheese-making and what themselves. I couldn’t resist them.” To follow up on what we learned in was “put into” the cheese besides milk. These consumers have a romantic the focus groups about narrative de- “Antibiotic-free” and “hormone-free” vision of cheese production and associ- scriptions, we developed a series of four foods are also important to the specialty ate specialty cheeses with European case-card statements, each of which de- cheese consumer. When asked what cheese-making traditions. Small (family) scribed the same cheese in a slightly dif- they would like to discuss if they could farms were mentioned often. The partic- ferent manner. We then set up a cheese talk to the person raising the cows that ipants evoked images of stone cottages tasting table in the deli section of two TABLE 2. Proposed case-card statements, ranked by specialty cheese shoppers (n = 36) from 1 (most likely to influence purchase) to 4 (least likely)

Statement Mean such as chalkboards or case cards influ- Pedrozo Peppercorn is a Gouda-style cheese, handmade in limited quantities ence consumer purchases and should by Tim and Jill Pedrozo. The Pedrozo family ages this cheese over 60 days. 1.83b* contain as much information as possible This cheese is great as an hors d’oeuvre or on top of a salad. about the cheese and the cheese makers. Pedrozo Peppercorn is a smooth, rich Gouda-style cheese made exclusively Although we did not survey restau- from the milk of Jersey cows grazed on organic pastures. This semi-hard cheese 2.04ab rants, cheese makers told us that they has a mild flavor accented with pepper. are establishing relationships with chefs Pedrozo Peppercorn is a Gouda-style cheese accented with Indonesian in the same ways that they get to know peppercorn. It is made on a small family farm in Northern California. 2.63ab The milk for this cheese is produced without rBST. retail customers. Cheese makers usually give their product to restaurants to use Pedrozo Peppercorn is a semi-hard Gouda-style cheese made exclusively 2.79a from the milk of Jersey cows. The Pedrozo family ages this raw-milk cheese as an introduction and work with the over 60 days. chef to develop appropriate recipes or

* Means with different letters are significantly different from each other P( = .0082). place the cheese as one selection in a cheese course. It took almost 30 years for California specialty grocery stores in Sacramento but it is essential to establish the prod- to evolve from the jug wine capital of and asked customers to evaluate the uct origin as distinctly different from the United States to a state known for marketing effectiveness of the product Kraft Singles. Mass media advertising its fine wines (see page 71). The wine descriptions on the case cards. Thirty- for Real California Cheese is conducted industry built its reputation by creat- six people participated in the case-card by the CMAB and paid for through ing products on a small scale that were evaluations. check-off dollars (assessments on each equal or superior to European wines in Consumers were asked to select the pound of cow’s milk produced, as regu- the same price categories. At the 2002 case-card statement that would most lated by California’s milk marketing American Cheese Society competition in likely prompt them to purchase a cheese order), so in-person promotions by the Washington, D.C., one-quarter of the they sampled for our project. The de- cheese maker are an important means 100 cheese makers submitting entries scription order was randomized on of differentiating a specialty product. were from California. The cheese rated the survey sheet to avoid skewing the Members of the sales staff need to know best of show was produced in Califor- response. The card that described the as much as possible about the cheese, nia, and California cheeses took home cheese as “handmade,” mentioned the who the cheese makers are and what the prizes in 15 of 22 categories. Although farm family by name and included a farm is like, including farming practices the California artisan cheese industry is serving suggestion received the highest and animal care and feeding. If cheese still in its infancy, like the wine indus- rating and was significantly different makers are selling through a distribu- try of the 1970s, it has lots of room for from the case card (P < 0.01) with the tor, they should be sure to educate the growth. lowest rating (table 2). Only the written distributor about their product, provide descriptions influenced the response. sales materials for retailers and conduct Neither the store location nor the clien- in-store demonstrations whenever pos- B.A. Reed is County Director and Dairy tele frequenting the store contributed sible. Farm Advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, to the statistical variation seen in the Increased sales are the incentive for Glenn County; and C.M. Bruhn is Director, response. The data were analyzed by a the specialty store staff to set up tasting Center for Consumer Research, UC Davis. blocked ANOVA and the means tested demonstrations with cheese makers References by Tukey’s Studentized Range. and provide cheese samples for their customers. Such staff often rotates [CDFA] California Department of Food Marketing strategies and Agriculture. 1998. Manufacture of featured cheeses and can use features dairy products. California Dairy Statistics Who better to tell the story of the to derive multiple sales in the same Annual 1997. Sacramento, CA. p 25–32. product than the maker? Focus group product category. For example, if an http://134.186.235.120/dairy/pubs/Annual/ responses showed that cheese makers aged Italian cheese such as Parmigiano 1997pdfs/manufacture.pdf. CDFA. 2002. Manufacture of dairy need to establish a relationship with Reggiano is featured, staff members products. California Dairy Statistics An- customers directly or through cheese often provide other aged dry cheeses nual 2001. Sacramento, CA. p 25–30. buyers and distributors. A large part to customers for comparison and http://134.186.235.120/dairy/pubs/Annu- al/2001/5.pdf. of this strategy can be accomplished purchase. [CMAB] California Milk Advisory Board. through an effective narrative. If cheese is sold in individual pack- 2002. The Contemporary American Cheese Cheese makers should try to have ages rather than cut from a wheel, pack- Course: The New Basics of Eating Well. Work- a physical presence at in-store demon- aging will help the consumer identify shops for chefs. Las Vegas, Portland, Salt Lake City. CMAB, South San Francisco, CA. strations so that customers and store a known brand, but they will generally Krueger RA. 1994. Focus Groups: A Prac- employees can get to know them per- not select a novel cheese based on pack- tical Guide for Applied Research. 2nd ed. sonally. This personal time can be costly, aging alone. Other in-store displays Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 255 p.