Dairy Crest has introduced further convenience into its Cathedral City brand portfolio by launching a snacking bar, made entirely of 30g of mature cheddar cheese.
Available through the convenience channel this November, the snack bar, which bears the same ‘masterbrand livery’ as the rest of the Cathedral City range, is targeted at consumers who already snack on cheese in the home but are yet to find a product in the snack bar or snacking segments that delivers a similar experience.
It is available in mature and mature lighter varieties, the latter containing under 100kcals per bar. They will retail for £0.60 each.
Will Hemmings, head of cheese marketing for Dairy Crest, argued that moves in the snack market were creating room for a product of this kind.
He said: “Consumers are increasingly shunning traditional snacking products in favour of lower sugar, more natural alternatives. Our research suggests that significant numbers of adults are already snacking on cheese in the home but feel that there are no products suited to their needs for on-the-go snacking. Cathedral City snack bar offers the opportunity to drive relevance and consideration of cheese as a savoury snacking alternative at these on the go snacking occasions when merchandised alongside other grab-and-go food items.
“While many consumers see cheese – a naturally nutrient-dense food – as part of a healthy diet, we recognised that there is still a gap in the market to target more health–conscious consumers with a delicious on-the-go cheese format and the 30g snack bar does just that. Our mature lighter bar has just 99kcals, which makes it a very credible alternative to a small bag of crisps or a cereal bar.”
The move towards ‘snackier’ formats is prominent in the cheese market. Cathedral City has, in recent weeks, expanded its Spreadables line of cheddar spread while Seriously Strong launched an individually portioned format of its own Seriously Strong Spreadable cheese.
The cheese snacking sector is currently worth £41 million in the convenience channel with volumes growing 8% year on year, Dairy Crest said. Though children’s products hold a majority share, adult snacking products are gaining traction.
The launch of the new Cathedral City snack bar will extend the choice of adult snacking cheeses within the category, backed by the weight of a £260 million brand.
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