Wisconsin Cheese is challenging what 'American cheese' means to Europeans
Walking past the booth of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin at SIAL Paris, one couldn'’t help but notice the 7ft-long charcuterie cheeseboard featuring a selection from Pleasant Ridge, Hook’s Cheese, Sartori, Master’s Gallery, Nasonville, Emmi Roth, La Clare, and Carr Valley. Hook’s 15-year aged, bright orange cheddar (pictured, right) was a particular highlight, but the entire selection stood firm among the wide variety of specialty cheese showcased across the Dairy Hall.
But while Wisconsin cheeses are well-regarded on the artisanal food scene, European mainstream consumers are less familiar with this US-made delicacy. Limited product availability in Europe plays a major part in that, as Lisa Ramatowski, vice-president, sustainability and export marketing at Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, told us at SIAL Paris.
“We have a few of our brands that we have some distribution in the EU, in Austria and Germany, so we are getting some product in a couple of different brands. Those [distribution deals] have all come from experiences at trade shows. That’s kind of where we're at.
“One of the things within the EU [is that] we don’t have a lot of US cheeses. Within the EU, we have some opportunities to keep growing the breadth that we have here [but] right now, it's really more about awareness of flavor and taste.”
“When people think of cheddar, [they think] it's a type of cheese - but it's really a breadth of flavors and textures and experiences.” – Lisa Ramatowski, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin
Specifically, it's about challenging consumer perceptions of ‘American cheese’ as another term for processed cheese slices.
“I think there's a perception here that US cheese is more of a processed item,” the VP explained. “So being able to talk about using natural dairy products and then have someone taste and experience them…if you can get cheese in someone's mouth, that perception changes very quickly.
“It’s about making sure that [consumers] think of US cheese and Wisconsin cheese in different light after seeing and tasting."
“We have everything from very mild to aged cheddar; when you do start tasting, [each] has such a personality,” Ramatowski added.
But with stiff competition from European cheesemakers – in France alone, around 1,200 different cheeses are produced – how can Wisconsin Cheese compete? One way could be through...
Flavor innovation
Besides getting buyers and eventually end-consumers to see and taste the products, flavor innovation specific to the US cheese market is hoped to be be an effective strategy, as Ramatowski told us.
Wisconsin produces around half of all specialty cheese in the US – and there are more than 600 types, styles and varieties coming from the state.
“What we've done is we have a little bit of flexibility and innovation that we can do with cheeses and Wisconsin that may vary a bit from what's done with them. So we've taken some of those and played with them a bit and kind of created these new flavor types, and so we'll have a cranberry chipotle pepper mixed in a cheddar.
“In the US, we see a lot with spice,” she explained, adding that cheeses from Emmi Roth and Nasonville both leverage ghost pepper – the world’s hottest chili pepper, as certified by the Guinness World Records.
“So it's the very hot, spicy flavors; we're seeing it both in snacking, in cheese, but in foodservice applications. Having that kind of flavor - a mac’n’cheese with a ghost pepper, for example – offers another option, something a bit more special.”
From America’s Dairyland to the rest of the world
Wisconsin is the largest US exporter of specialty cheese, according to the state’s department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection. Canada, China, Mexico and South Korea have traditionally been the top destination for Wisconsin cheese exports.
According to IABC export data, in Q2 2024, cheese and curd was the largest dairy category exported from Wisconsin, raking in around $100m in sales to-date which marks a growth of 32% over 2023. In Europe, Germany is the sixth largest market for the state’s agri exports, but the bulk of these are crops rather than dairy.
According to US Census data, the state exported around $486bn worth of dairy products as of September 9, 2024; in comparison, total dairy exports for FY23 amounted to around $596bn.
Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin estimates that the state produces more cheese than Italy, making it the world's fourth largest producer in volume terms ranking behind the US, Germany and France.
