Retailers urged to stock up as Lactalis predicts Seriously good baking cheese sales this Christmas

Lactalis UK & Ireland is urging retailers to capitalise on the potential triple figure sales increase of baking cheeses this Christmas by stocking up on its best-selling Seriously® Melting Pots, Seriously® Nuggets and Président Crispy Bakes. This follows a sales peak of +176% in volume versus the prior period in December 2019.

Seriously® Melting Pots was the second best-selling branded baking cheese last Christmas, growing by +264% in value sales and +229% in volume sales¹. It was also the main contributor to the growth of the baking cheese category². Following record sales during Christmas 2019, sales are expected to be even higher after such a turbulent year as consumers seek out small affordable luxuries such as the indulgent, sharing Seriously® Melting Pots.

New government restrictions will have an impact on the type of food consumers want to buy due to the smaller sized groups in which people can meet. Seriously® Melting Pots over-indexes with smaller households, making it an ideal sharing food for a new ‘smaller’ type of celebration. Available in a convenient glass jar, Seriously® Melting Pots are available in Aged Scottish Cheddar and Roasted Onion flavour.

Launched into the hot cheese category earlier this year, Seriously® Nuggets are expected to further boost Christmas baked cheese sales. Containing six tasty nuggets made with award-winning cheddar cheese in an 150g pack (RRP: £2.50) the product will appeal to festive consumers looking for meat alternatives.

2020 also saw the launch of Président’s first entry into the hot cheese category with Président A La Carte Crispy Bakes with Brie. Worth £30m, Président is the UK’s number one brie brand with a 26% market share,³ and this further innovation has allowed consumers to enjoy a hot Brie product in a convenient format. Each 150g pack (RRP: £2.50) contains six delicious bakes – perfect for a festive group of six.

Héloïse Le Norcy-Trott, Group Marketing Director for Lactalis UK & Ireland comments: “During lockdown, cheese sales surged with total category value sales growing by 23.1% year on year. With further government restrictions in place as we head into the festive season, we are expecting the traditional sales peaks for our baking cheese products to be greater than ever. Not only will consumers want to treat themselves because it’s Christmas, we have also seen the emergence of little premium indulgences where consumers seek out small yet affordable luxuries like cheese.”