Skimming The Fat

Rising costs and the government’s intent in reducing fat in the nation’s diet have taken their toll on the dairy industry, yet there are lines stimulating growth. Sheila Eggleston reports.

First it was salt reduction, now it's fat reduction – an all out effort to make Brits healthier, fitter and less overweight. With much reduced salt levels in food under its belt thanks to the food industry's co-operation, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is now intent on working towards cutting our saturated fat intake to address obesity issues.

The FSA admits that reformulating food to cut saturated fat content is "a more complex technical challenge" than salt reduction, but it aims to reduce the nation's intake of saturated fat to no more than 11% of energy intake for everyone over five years old. Average consumption currently, it says, is about 20% higher.

Phase one of its saturated fat campaign kicked off last year focusing on the dangers of too much saturated fat in consumers' diets and tips on how to cut down. In January it launched phase two consisting of ads showing simple ways to reduce saturated fat.

Reducing saturated fat isn't news to cheese suppliers who have worked hard to develop lower fat lines. Milk Link's Bladen Lighter contains 30% less fat than its standard cheddar, which it says is appealing to school caterers as cheese is used in more than 80% of primary school dishes.

Makers of Laughing Cow and Leerdammer cheese, Bel Foodservice UK, is also aware that lower fat products are making inroads into the foodservice sector and it too offers lighter versions.

Marketing director Ian Greengrass says: "Sales of Leerdammer Light, which contains 50% less fat than cheddar, have trebled in the last 12 months. A sales uplift of 17.5g portions of Laughing Cow demonstrates another area of growth. Portions of cheese allow caterers to minimise wastage which can benefit the bottom line."

Lactalis McLelland also has high hopes for its new 30% reduced fat brie from its Lubborn Creamery in Somerset. Launched in January, it uses a different culture and process to its traditional Somerset brie.

However a key challenge for suppliers is to get the message across about innovative ways of using cheese in cooking and more creative use of descriptors on menus.

Lactalis, which has an infinite number of cheese varieties in its portfolio, says in foodservice cheese becomes generic and on menus it's usually "something with cheese" with no allusion to flavours and textures.

Marketing manager Warren MacFarlane says according to latest research from the British Cheeseboard Association, cheese is eaten in 98% of UK households, but it plays a key role out of home too.

"Previously considered niche with limited applications beyond a cheese board, brie and camembert are versatile with a range of applications in cooking that offer customers a meal with a difference and profit. Using cheese generically does nothing to set one menu apart from another."

The scope of out of home consumption represents a huge and as yet untapped opportunity for developing yogurt and chilled pot dessert sales, according to Müller Dairy's Chilled Yogurts & Pot Desserts (CYPD) 2010 category report.

Müller Dairy's interim marketing director, Jonathan Dee, says yogurt features in 5% of meals at home where it generates sales in excess of £2bn, and if it was eaten on 5% of out of home meal occasions this would be equivalent to three times the size of today's yogurt market. However he adds: "Despite the rationale for caterers to give more focus to yogurt, there continues to be resistance, particularly in cost sector catering, to embrace the CYPD opportunity."

The report says suppliers need to work on resolving the barriers preventing yogurt unlocking its full potential. For example, cost sector caterers need keen price points and bespoke packs. Müller says it has done this with mini pots and its exclusive Thick & Creamy range for foodservice, plus its new Bio Yogurt Corner comes in a special mixed case of 4x135g pots of each flavour.

Pritchitts says its milk powders are perfect for the cost sector. In recent blind tastings of Millac Classic, it says chefs couldn't tell the difference between the product and fresh milk.

It is currently offering caterers the opportunity to test it with a 125g sample that makes one litre, which is available via the Pritchitts website. Until the end of the year, the company is also offering each new customer of Millac the chance to claim a free tub.

Kerrygold says chefs want high quality cheese and butter that are good value for money, and it has created lines for front of house.

This year it has also designed butter sports balls for leading sports events. It will be supplying Virgin Airlines with butter footballs throughout the World Cup, and Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales, with golf ball shaped butter during the Ryder Cup in October.

Game on.

Related Articles:

• 23 Sep 2010 - British cheeses are becoming increasingly popular, says Milk Link