With households up and down the country planning to serve a cheese platter as a finale to their Christmas dinner this year and the retailer is predicting sales of more than 2,500 tonnes of cheese over the festive period.
While Cheddar will the most popular choice with 52 % of the supermarket’s entire 2011 sales, British produced blue and soft cheeses such as Camembert and Brie are taking on their grown-up French cousins.
More specifically, Morrisons Stilton sales have surged by 12% in 2011, with December purchases of the Christmas classic set to make up a quarter of the entire year’s sales. The retailer’s sales of UK produced Camembert increased by a massive 41% this year, while English Brie – currently growing faster than its more famous French counterpart – and English goat’s cheese, have also seen leaps of 10% and 15% respectively.
Recent statistics show that we’re a nation of cheese lovers with 96% of Brits chomping on cheese at home and the entire cheese market has increased by 32% since 2006.
Domestic demand is encouraging UK producers to follow in the footsteps of their continental, cheese-making peers. Oxford Blue, similar in texture to Dolcelatte and Cornish and Somerset Brie, (English variations on the traditional French soft cheese) are expected to sell well as Christmas Day approaches. Morrisons reveals that 70% of people actively look for British produce on the shelves. According to over a third of people questioned, buying British this year is a more important choice than when food shopping five years ago.
Source: Morrisons
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