‘New moments with cheese in European food culture.’ A multi country programme on cheeses of Europe in internal markets

‘New moments with cheese in European food culture'. A multi country programme on cheeses of Europe in internal markets

The multi-programme on cheeses of Europe ‘New moments with cheese in European food culture’ targeting internal markets is coordinated by the EMF (European Milk Forum), with 3 dairy organisations: DDB (Denmark), CNIEL (France) and NDC (Ireland). Cheese is an essential product of European agriculture and is made of milk. The European dairy sector is a major economic sector with many jobs. The general situation of the cheese market appears to be positive. However, although these markets are mature, the consumption is fragile and might be negatively impacted in the near future, as some risks and weaknesses are identified in the three Member States, notably a decrease in consumption and perception of cheese in young generation who eat less cheese than the older consumers. The objectives are to enhance the competitiveness of European agriculture and encourage cheese consumption by increasing consumer's awareness of the merits of the Union’s agricultural products. The chosen strategy to achieve the objectives is to highlight the versatility of cheese through communicating its variety of uses & new consumption moments: breakfast, snacking, cooking, lunchtime/lunchbox, evening meal ingredient, etc. This strategy is based on common ground and vision shared by the 3 countries. The programme includes a set of consistent cost-effective activities at central level: survey on European cheese, blogger & influencer events, cheese maturing activities, online video platform and chat content etc. The local implementations include actions targeting key opinion leaders who will, in turn, relay information to the target consumer, such as influencers (social media, websites, PR, events), education/training (academic partnerships, training in hospitality establishments etc.), healthcare professionals (insertion in press), retailers and cheese-makers/POs (brochures/leaflets, in store activities etc.).  Total budget: € 4 675 000 over 3 years (3 countries).