Australian Artisan Cheese
Challenge, Chance, and Creativity
under the Modern World Affected by COVID-19
Despite many Australian industries taking a big hit from COVID-19, artisan cheese seized the opportunity and achieved standout with online technological and selling transformation.
During COVID-19, Cheese Therapy not only witnessed a 36-fold increase in artisan cheese on its platform but also saved 20 cheesemakers from an epidemic of unsold situations.
✦ Artisan Cheesemakers
What is Artisan Cheese? Milk +bacteria mould=Artisan Cheese
Everything is down by hand. More Exquisite, thinner, and gentler than the cheese made of machine.
Raw milk category, bacteria mould, and temperature are three important elements for Handmade Artisan Cheese. The flavor of the cheese is affected by the different selection of raw milk. The nutrition of the cow or goat decides the quality and the taste of the milk. The fresh milk makes a milder flavor, milk which might have a bit of age on it will produce a goating flavor.
Artisan Cheese with modern technology
Compared with the previous handmade cheese, the procedure now has been improved thanks to the development of modern technology.
· Artificial Rennet: Rennet is traditionally got out of a baby calf or lamb stomach, but now it's vegetarian all made in a laboratory that causes the milk to curdle into curds.
· Stainless steel tank: The stainless steel tank with electrical work is beneficial for precise temperature control than the manual control.
· Dairy-Free: The ever-increasing demand for vegan and dairy-free food has opened many new markets both globally and in Australia. Indeed, many 21st century businesses have successfully begun exploring the viability of new vegan-friendly products.
How lucky Artisan Cheese is!
2020，COVID-19 disease has shut down thousands of businesses and continues to affect many more. But the sales of local artisanal cheese have increased significantly at this time.
The BoatShed Cheeses achieved a turnover of $40,000 in September with two full-time employees and two part-time, which is 40% higher than ‘The era of peace’.
Sarah, the owner of BoatShed Cheeses which is a small Artisan Cheese business in Mornington Peninsula, said : “We've increased our sales to the farm shops because people stop going to crown supermarkets and start shopping at the farm gate shops.”
Due to the COVID-19, BoatShed Cheese starts the delivery service on Thursday and Friday and does farmer's markets on weekends as well.
“Online sales probably a half in Melbourne metro and half in the Mornington peninsula, but online sales are pretty small compared to what we sell to the farm shops and hamper companies which provide the parcel packages assorted of wine, cheese, chocolates and that sort of thing,” said Sarah.
The farmer’s market is more stable, averaging about $1,000 each market per day.
Map of artisanal cheese manufacturers in Australia
✦ Online Distributor
Modern Internet technology has created new opportunities for the development of artisanal cheese
During the COVID-19, online marketing made a huge contribution to the sale of Australian artisan cheese.
"Online gourmet cheese store sales soar 36-fold in Covid’s wake," written by Michael on the Inside FMCG.
Mould, a cheese and wine distributor based in Melbourne, Australia. Dan Sims, the CEO of Mould, launched the online platform to sell artisan cheese and other wine products in May this year. Because they found that e-commerce could help them get rid of sluggish sales.
“The sales of cheese box is going probably by about 30% or 40% every month. The moment will probably be on track to sell well over 1500 this month, actually, this is starting from 250 boxes per month. That trend is continuously growing every single month. I think by Christmas it'll be around the 3000 boxes mark,” Dan said.
In Australia, artisan cheese is mainly sold in restaurants, shops, farms, supermarkets, and farmers’ markets.
However, with the outbreak of the Covid epidemic, restaurants, and other markets were forced to close that made artisan cheeses unsalable overnight.
At this moment, E-commerce has kept the sale of artisan cheeses alive. “We discovered a lot of these (Cheese manufacturer direct sale) business won’t set up for e-commerce. So, we can help here with our business. We live online, we push a lot of things through social media savvy. I will do the marketing, cheesemakers make the cheese. I’ll handle logistics,” Dan said.
The help of e-commerce has not only boosted sales of artisan cheese, but it has also helped more artisanal cheesemakers from the economic crisis.
Currently, Mould needs at least 30 to 40 cheese suppliers a month, and Dan is looking for more as Christmas approaches.
✦ Cheese in the restaurant
Artisan Cheese, People's Nostalgia
The COVID-19 has a big hit for the restaurant industry, local restaurants still stick to more expensive artisanal cheeses despite processed cheeses being generously welcomed in this era of highly advanced technology.
The secret of success can be attributed to the spirit of hand-made cheese and the delicate taste of artisanal cheese.
The 1806 Bar known as one of the best places for cheese and wine in Melbourne, keeping the majority of cheeses artisanal for customers, since they yearn for the spirit of personal touch and satisfied with various choices for hand-made cheeses.
Ciarán, the venue manager of the bar stated, artisanal cheeses contain cheesemakers’ own spirits and human touch.
He said, “you do get that feeling when you buy this cheese it's from someone that really knows and loves what they're doing”
When he mentioned processed cheese, he claimed we just use them as part of the ingredient.
“It’s like a component to the whole sandwich was a slice of blue cheeses.”
They have 1,000-day-old Dutch gouda, English cave-aged cheddar, and French Brillat-Savarin cheeses and so on, they are all handmade cheese.
“I think machine-made processed cheese is totally wrong”, he claimed.
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