Speciality and artisanal cheeses today: the product and the consumer

Abstract

This paper aims to identify and describe the determinants of consumer attitudes towards artisanal cheeses within the speciality cheese market and the reasons behind the growing interest in this premium value sector as evinced by two surveys of specialist food retailers and artisanal cheese consumers. The survey results obtained are presented in the context of a changing consumption culture and the concept of an emerging “postmodern” consumerism. Artisanal cheese consumers focus on the unique characteristics of the products and their distinctive character in relation to mass produced industrial cheeses. Price and functional properties of artisanal cheeses are less important in the consumer purchase decision. Artisanal cheese consumers are characterised by “variety seeking” behaviour. This is stimulated by the broad range of available flavours, tastes and cheese types and suggests a low degree of brand or even cheese‐type loyalty among such consumers. The “plural” nature of the “speciality” cheese market accommodates well the highly individual and fragmented requirements of consumers of artisanal cheeses.