Marketing works: Swiss cheese industry exports more in the first quarter
The Swiss cheese industry exported more in the first quarter of 2018 than in the same period of the previous year. According to a statement released by Switzerland Cheese Marketing (SCM) at its annual general meeting on Friday, the company’s active and multifaceted marketing efforts in Europe and its expansion into new markets have paid off.
Swiss cheese exports rose by 9.4 per cent to more than 23,000 tons in the first quarter. In terms of varieties, Gruyère and Emmentaler grew more strongly, while the development of Appenzeller was stable, according to a spokeswoman. The quarterly figures confirm the trend from the previous year.
David Escher, Managing Director of SCM, is optimistic about the future. "The bottom seems to have been reached. The environment remains difficult, but if the economy in Europe continues to grow and the euro-franc exchange rate remains stable, the signs point to a positive export trend, as the first few months of 2018 have shown."
A niche player in terms of budget
SCM's European branches also developed a whole range of new measures last year to encourage consumers to buy Swiss cheese. With 232 different main activities - for example Swiss Weeks, the Tour del Gusto, various blogger cooperations or the trade fair appearance at the SIA in Paris - over 13.7 billion advertising contacts were generated, according to the press release. Competition on the global cheese market is fierce and SCM is a niche player with a total budget of CHF 46.7 million, writes the marketing organization. In Germany and France alone, the competition invests many times more in advertising.
In this highly competitive market, it is not easy to attract the attention of consumers, but 98% of SCM's activities in the reporting year met or exceeded expectations. Thanks to typical core values such as excellent Swiss milk, traditional production and a long tradition, Swiss cheese stands out from the competition. (hae/pd/SDA)
