Have you noticed changes at your favorite cheese counters? I have. So many cheeses are now pre-sliced and vacuum-sealed—cheeses that merchants used to cut to order, so you could have just the amount you wanted. The selection has narrowed. There are gaps on the shelves. All these changes are pandemic related, but how long will they last? Will cheese counters eventually be as robust as they used to be and cheese shopping as interactive as before?
I sat down with Cathy Strange, formerly global cheese buyer and now a VP of Whole Foods Market, at the recent American Cheeese Society conference in Portland to hear how the pandemic has altered the chain’s cheese counters and what impact inflation will have. I have edited her answers for brevity and clarity.
Cathy Strange | Whole Foods Market
How has the pandemic changed the Whole Foods cheese counter?
The difference is that customers have modified their buying habits. We’re cutting cheese in house and offering it in pre-pack because customers ordered a lot online and got used to that. It’s easier to get that format to the customer. The cheeses that have done well for us are the PDO cheeses, and no one thought that would happen. Customers went to the best cheese.
It’s not the selection that has been modified so much as how people shop. They have adjusted their patterns. They like being in our environment, but maybe they’ll be there every third day and complement that with an online order. That’s going to stay.
I miss the active sampling, getting to taste before I buy. Will that ever return?
We’re still not allowed to do it in every store, but we’re back to samping—passive and active—where allowable. We have all those CCPs in our stores and we are known for our service. Not having the ability to put cheese in someone’s mouth when we know it’s great that day—it has limited our ability to gain trust with a customer and move them into new selections. So customers’ buying remained static. They bought what they knew.
What about the pandemic’s impact on imports?
Logistics and packaging have been very challenging. Early in the pandemic, even grading was an issue. We only buy export-level Parmigiano Reggiano, but during that time, even the Consorzio wasn’t allowed into the manufacturing plants. [Inspectors from the Consorzio, the governing body, must firebrand wheels intended for export to certify their quality and extra age.] We couldn’t tour facilities. Even our Quality Assurance people were having a hard time getting in.
Now, you can’t get labels. You can’t get packaging, and if you can, you can’t get dock time at the port. The time between ordering and receiving went from 16 days to up to 3 months.
Which cheeses are most impacted?
All of them. Where there’s vulnerability is with the soft-ripened products that have an 83- or 85-day shelf life. You really have to have your ducks in a row to get them expedited, to monitor refrigeration if there are bumps in the road, to get the bioterrorism documents cleared. Some of the ports are closed. You have to know all this and plan the logistics carefully. We have had issues of short shelf life and we addressed it with a temporary price reduction.
Aha. So there may be some good deals for shoppers if cheeses have to move quickly. Which brings us to inflation and rising cheese prices. Are you seeing changes to consumer behavior?
Shipping delays can leave imported soft cheeses with a short retail life. Pictured: Tomme Grand-Mère
Shoppers are aware that prices are going up, but let’s go back to some of the reasons. Everything is harder. We can’t book a container; there aren’t enough, so the cost is going up. Even getting something from Wisconsin may cost more because gas costs more. Packaging, feed…it may not be the product but everything surrounding the product.
We need to have an awareness of customer thesholds. We want them to put cheese in their basket because they buy a lot of other things when they buy cheese, so we’ve got to keep it where they feel comfortable, where it’s not a luxury.
During the pandemic customers said, “I’m not going to restaurants. I’m not getting to be around friends and family. I want something good.” So they didn’t settle. The consumer tasted some high-quality products during that time, and it’s hard to go back. They just may buy a little less until things adjust.
Do you have any tips for shoppers on how to get the most out of the dollars they spend on cheese?
I’ve always said, “Buy higher quality, more flavorful cheese and you will eat less and be satisfied more.” I continue to say that. Cheeses that can be a table cheese and an ingredient cheese—like Comté and Gruyère—will always bring value. Traditionally produced Cheddars, the Goudas. Some of the better values are in the hard cheeses because you can use them in so many ways.