Oamaru cheese-maker rises above flood of imports to rack up the medals.
Despite a tough couple of years dealing with high regulatory costs and a flood of imported product, Oamaru’s Whitestone Cheese company has managed to come out on top in the annual Champions of Cheese awards.
Medal winners for the country’s top cheese types were chosen this week, from which the highest scoring cheeses will be in contention for the ultimate Champion’s award, announced in May.
Whitestone Cheese claimed a swathe of gold medals in the original, blue, new, soft and Greek-style sections. This made it one of the most medalled producers, alongside industry giant Fonterra.
Whitestone managing director Simon Berry said winning the only gold medal in the new cheese category for their Pukaki Blue Brie was a particularly proud moment. The award for the company’s sheep’s milk Monte Cristo in the original category was also a welcome win for the cheese named after the family’s farm.
Tarrant said judges were particularly impressed by the significant lift in the number of blue cheese entries, and the growth in the Greek- or Danish-style cheese categories.
Berry said the specialty cheese sector faces a tough time in the face of some low-priced European-sourced cheeses that include Danish-sourced fetas, often produced through low-cost, subsidised, robotic factories.
“The imports are really having an effect now. Initially when they comprised about 10% of the market, we just thought it was manageable, but they now comprise about 50%, thanks in part to the FTA with Europe.”
The NZ specialty cheese sector has been going through tough times in recent years, with a number of producers closing their doors.
Berry said exporting had been a focus for Whitestone, one of the country’s older specialty cheese producers.
“But we have found the compliance costs we face to export outweigh the returns we get.”
Auditing costs soared to almost $30,000 a year with the shift from annual audits to four a year.
The company had been exporting to United States, Asia, Singapore, Dubai and the Pacific Islands.
After the shakedown in the sector post-covid, he hoped there was now some stability among producers.
“But while things may be stable now, we are not seeing any new operators come into the sector.”
He said Fonterra’s sales exercise for its branded business was another uncertainty for the specialty sector.
As a company Fonterra has established a solid reputation for its artisanal Kikorangi blue cheeses.
Fonterra and Whitestone swiped all five gold medals awarded in the blue category this year. Fonterra also collected a gold in the soft ripened cheese section for its Kāpiti ash rind white.
Berry said those companies remaining in the specialty cheese area tend to have reinvested in plant, have high quality milk sources, and deliver a consistent, world standard product.
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