What your choice of cheese says about you


Friday, 16 December, 2016

Australians certainly enjoy their cheese, with data from Roy Morgan showing 76.3% of Australian grocery buyers (aged 14+) purchase at least one kind of cheese in an average month.

Block cheese is the most popular, with 55.1% of grocery buyers purchasing it in an average month, followed by sliced cheese (35.8%) and grated/shredded cheese (33.1%), soft cheese (18.4%), creamed cheese/cheese spread (10.5%), cottage/ricotta cheese (9.9%) and cheese snacks/portions (5.7%).

So what does your choice of cheese reveal about you?

Even block cheese, the most popular type, stands out in its own way, with New Zealand- and British-born Australians both 23% more likely than the population average to buy this form of cheese in an average four weeks. In contrast, Asian-born Australians are a sizeable 72% less likely to buy it.

The popularity of block cheese also peaks among the Roy Morgan Food Segment known as ‘Trendsetters’ — gourmet-loving foodies.

Sliced cheese is especially popular with consumers classed as ‘Zappits’, who aren’t big on cooking so the ease and convenience of cheese slices no doubt suits them well.

Almost as likely to buy sliced cheese are those aged 35–49 years — many of them time-poor parents looking for quick, healthy snacks for their kids.

Different kinds of cheese buyers: how they differ

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), October 2015–September 2016, n=14,416. Base: Australian grocery buyers 14+ (except BMI, which is grocery buyers 18+).

Sliced cheese is also popular among Australian adults with a Body Mass Index (BMI) classified as obese, who are 20% more likely than the average grocery buyer to buy it in any given four weeks — just as they are for grated/shredded cheese too. Those at the underweight end of the BMI spectrum favour soft and creamed cheese.

Unsurprisingly, soft cheese is enjoyed by people who like to drink wine with their meals and entertain at home, while cottage/ricotta cheese has elevated popularity with European-born Australians, as well as those who like to eat healthily and are concerned about their weight.

“Cheese buyers are a diverse bunch, and in today’s gradually shrinking cheese market, brands need to ensure that they are marketing their various cheese products to the right target audience. For example, a quick glimpse at the table above confirms that a grocery buyer who purchases soft cheese is focused on entirely different aspects of the culinary experience than someone who buys shredded cheese,” said Norman Morris, industry communications director, Roy Morgan Research.

“The table above also hints at another key trend: cheese’s popularity with older Aussies. Roy Morgan data reveals that the under-25 age group is almost 30% less likely than the average grocery buyer to purchase cheese of any kind, with 25- to 34-year-olds also below average,” said Morris.

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