Appenzeller® cheese shows domestic growth – export business remains challenging
In an increasingly price-sensitive market environment, the Appenzeller® cheese consortium was able to achieve a positive result in the fiscal year 2024: a slight increase in sales, a significant increase in production and solid domestic growth has demonstrated that the brand's position has been further strengthened. However, a diminished desire to buy as well as growing price awareness among consumers remain key issues, particularly in the European sales markets.
Domestic business as a driver of growth
With total sales of 8,358 metric tons (+1.2% compared to the previous year), the cheese consortium recorded slight growth for the first time in three years. Domestic sales of Appenzeller® cheese developed particularly well, increasing by 4.6% to 4,185 metric tons. The main reason for this is the continued success of Appenzellerin® Elegant, which was launched in autumn 2023 and was very well received by consumers with its mild, floral and fruity flavor, and it appealed to new groups of buyers. The Appenzeller® fondue business in Switzerland also had a particularly strong year. Sales increased by 10.4% in the reporting year, nearly reaching the level of the extremely strong pandemic years of 2020/21.
Stabilization in exports – France remains a matter of concern
While sales in Germany (3,168 metric tons) remained stable (+0.2%), the French market remained under pressure. Sales there fell by -9.3% to 586 metric tons, which means that the French business is responsible for roughly three quarters of the decline in exports. Sales also fell in Benelux, Italy and other European markets, as well as in the US business, whereas Canada remained stable. Overall, exports fell by -2% to 4,173 metric tons, which is more than half the previous year's decline (-4.5%). The Appenzeller® fondue business fared somewhat better, growing by 2.9% in foreign markets.
Substantial increase in production – further improvement in quality
A production volume of 8,756 metric tons (+6.9%) was achieved, representing pleasing growth that was well above the market as a whole (+3.6%). Particularly noteworthy is the increase in production of Appenzeller® standard full-fat (+320 metric tons) and Appenzellerin® Elegant (+181 metric tons). The production of Appenzeller® Organic was also increased by approximately 52 metric tons after two difficult years. At the same time, the quality standard remained at the highest level and was even able to increase from 98.68% in the previous year to 98.82%. This corresponds to the proportion of the quantity produced that was approved by the taxation experts for sale as premium products.
Brand strength reinforced – effective marketing
In the BrandAsset™ Valuator 2024 brand ranking, Appenzeller® took a major leap forward by 67 places to become the 17th strongest brand in Switzerland. This success is probably due in no small part to the launch of Appenzellerin® Elegant. The new product was supported in Switzerland by a broad-based, cross-media campaign that combined TV commercials, billboard advertising, online advertising measures, tastings and promotions at the point of sale, social media postings and extensive sampling activities at Switzerland's largest railroad stations, where over 120,000 product samples were distributed.
In Germany, as in the previous year, another tasting campaign was conducted in collaboration with local partners, which contributed to increasing consumer frequency as well as stabilizing sales. In both core markets, traditional advertising activities were supplemented by a presence at trade fairs and events as well as digital campaigns. Great importance is also attached to maintaining points of sale and personal contact with counter staff. In the German market, for example, around 3,500 cheese counters were and are visited and supported by the field marketing team every month to ensure the availability and brand activation of Appenzeller® cheese at the cheese counters at all times.
In the smaller export markets, targeted measures were often carried out with limited resources in order to achieve maximum impact in the retail trade and among consumers. Overall, the broad communication package illustrates the consistent market cultivation and innovative strength of the Appenzeller® cheese consortium.
The Appenzeller® cheese consortium continues to focus on targeted sales promotion at home and abroad, on expanding the distribution of its innovations and on active cost management, which allows for long-term operation even under difficult market conditions and with stagnating or declining sales. In 2025, differentiation through quality, origin and craftsmanship will remain crucial to the company's success in a competitive environment.
