The global cheese market has become so fragmented that the world’s five largest brands hold less than 10% of the market between them, according to new research from Canadean.
The market research company said that Kraft, Philadelphia, President, Sargento and Galbani accounted for less than one tenth of the marketplace in all, as an increasing amount of competition led to a battle for retail sales.
Its report also found that the global value value of cheese was expected to rise by almost 10% by 2019, increasing from $216.3bn to $237.bn. The market is enjoying strong growth overall, driven by emerging countries such as Brazil where cheese consumption is expected to triple in less than a decade.
The Brazilian cheese market is one of the fastest growing in the world: consumption per consumer has risen from 3.4kg in 2009 to 5.4g last year, and is expected to rise by more than 3kg per person during the next four years. The country is currently the fifth largest cheese market in terms of volume but will move up to third place by that time, on a par with France, Canadean continued.
The growing popularity of Western foods such as pizza was helping to boost the industry in countries with increasing amounts of disposable income, including Brazil, China and India.
Canadean analyst Dhara Badiani said: “With rising competition, top players in the market are building unique strategies, such as new product traits and uses, to differentiate themselves from other brands.
“Western foods such as pizza, pasta and sandwiches have become more popular in many emerging markets in recent years. Hypermarkets and supermarkets are the leading retailer channel for cheese in emerging markets, as they offer a wide range of cheese including multi-brand, private label and specialty products.”
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