Sourcing high-quality product is crucial for the success of a grocery specialty cheese program. But it’s only half the battle. Making sure you have the right merchandising plan in place is just as important.

Specialty cheese is a luxury item, and consumers should have a luxury shopping experience when purchasing it, said Stephen Foster, beer, wine and cheese category manager at Earth Fare.

“Creating an eye-catching display is crucial, but it’s also just the beginning. We aim to create displays that are also interactive and approachable, so a customer doesn’t feel that they will ruin a display by picking up a wedge of cheese.”

The retailer also does a lot of active sampling, encouraging customers to try the item they’re thinking about buying, Foster added.

“Typically, shoppers buy specialty cheeses for a special occasion, so the shopping experience should feel like a special occasion as well,” and sampling is a big part of that. “Grocery stores largely got away from sampling during COVID, for good reason, but we’ve been really intentional about safely bringing that practice back.”

Earth Fare wants its shoppers to feel good about everything they purchase, and allowing them to try product first, Foster said, is a big part of that.

Sampling cheese with wine has been a huge win-win for Earth Fare.

“The taste interplay between the cheese and wine elevates the experience, and when you try them together, they taste infinitely better than tasting either the cheese or wine just by themselves,” Foster said.

Earth Fare recently discovered a vegan cheese producer in Asheville, N.C., Earth Fare’s home, and tried their products out in its flagship store paired with a sauvignon blanc.

The acidity of the wine “turbocharged” the already extravagant flavors of the producer’s creamy but non-dairy cheese.

“It was a huge success,” Foster said. “Not only is this line of vegan cheeses now one of our top sellers in Asheville, we have expanded it by having all our stores currently carry their line of cheeses.”

Customers at Sprouts stores are “very attribute-driven,” according to Jeff Nachreiner, the retailer’s senior category manager for deli.

Because of that, Sprouts stores focus on curating an assortment of specialty cheeses and other deli products that meet their customers’ particular wants and needs.

“Being highly customer-focused is the key to success with any category,” Nachreiner said. “Knowing your customer, listening to what it is they want and then doubling down on that is always a winning formula.”

Sprouts, he added, has a “well-balanced” specialty cheese roster that features both conventional and innovative brands. And the company’s plant-based category is extensive and creates a point of differentiation for the retailer in the marketplace.

Cross-merchandising musts 

Another key to merchandising specialty cheese is pairing it with other items in the store.

An excellent example of cheese cross-merchandising at Earth Fare takes place in what Foster calls “caprese salad season” in the summer.

Earth Fare’s fresh mozzarella displays during that time also include heirloom tomatoes, basil and high-end olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

“There’s an art to showing the customer how a specialty cheese will fit in with the rest of their shopping cart,” Foster said. “We call it visual flavor.”

Sprouts has had great cross-merchandising success adding charcuterie and olives/antipasti items to its stores’ specialty cheese sets, Nachreiner said.

“It creates an easy entertaining destination for customers.”

Limited time offers (LTOs) also play a big role in specialty cheese merchandising at Sprouts stores, Nachreiner said.

Seasonally relevant LTOs rotate each quarter at Sprouts stores, to give one prominent example.

“They allow us to surprise and delight our customers, which is something they have told us they appreciate and enjoy,” he said.

“Variety and education” set Earth Fare’s specialty cheese department apart from its competitors, Foster said.

The retailer sources product from all over the world, and strives to offer cheeses you won’t find anywhere else.

“We aren’t afraid to bring in a new product to see how consumers will respond. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

At the same time, one of Earth Fare’s core values is supporting local business. Each of its stores features quality cheeses sourced from local artisans who adhere to the company’s Food Philosophy. Earth Fare also offers a broad variety of vegan cheeses.

“Each location has a selection of cheeses you won’t find anywhere else,” Foster said. “We believe that a grocery store cheese department can offer just as much variety and selection as a specialty cheese shop.”

Historically, Nachreiner said, retailers have merchandised specialty cheese offerings by variety or country of origin. While that works, Sprouts stores instead focuses on engaging customers from the standpoint of usage occasion.

Another key to merchandising specialty cheese, Nachreiner said, is creating a streamlined shopping experience for time-pressed consumers.

“The more simplified and easy you can make the shopping experience for a customer, the better.”

The art of merchandising

To effectively merchandise cheese, you have to realize that it isn’t just about the cheese, Foster said. “I approach merchandising like an art form in that it’s always evolving. Over time, I feel we’ve gotten more creative and willing to take risks with our merchandising.”

Right now, for example, Earth Fare is working closely with other departments in its stores to create themed displays, Foster said. “We might do an Italian theme, featuring parmesan reggiano, displayed with Earth Fare’s olive oil, fresh basil from produce, and a sangiovese from our wine aisle.”

Or, if a store is featuring a special price on filet, a manager might bring some blue cheese out of the cheese display to sample at the meat counter to inspire shoppers to try a blue-cheese crusted filet at home. “The key is to get creative,” Foster said.

This article is an excerpt from the August 2024 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the entire Cheese Merchandising feature and more in the digital edition here.