Why do we pay different prices for cheese when it's all made of the same stuff?

Tuesday, 20 September 2022

Blocks of cheese on supermarket shelves are made from the same ingredients, so why are shoppers paying different prices at the checkouts?

A 1kg block of Countdown edam cheese was made up of pasteurised cows' milk, salt, starter culture and non-animal rennet.

So was a block of edam made by Mainland, Pam’s, Alpine, and Rolling Meadow.

The Countdown cheese block cost $13.50, Mainland cost $18.90 at Countdown and $15.99 from New World, Pam’s was $9.99, and Rolling Meadow $11.19 at New World.

Aaron Beck, former Stats NZ senior manager for pricing, social and population insights, explains the food price index.

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A 1kg block of Mainland Colby cheese was $18.90 from Countdown and contained milk, salt, cultures, and enzyme (non-animal rennet). The same block made by Countdown, with the same ingredients was $13.50.

At New World a 1kg block of Pam’s Colby cost $9.99.

Kate Hughes, marketing cheese and spreads general manager at Fonterra Brands NZ said its cheese brands were Mainland, Mainland Special Reserve, Kāpiti, Perfect Italiano, Galaxy and Valumetric.

She said the brands targeted different consumers and uses.

Mainland was a “premium everyday cheese”, she said.

”Most cheeses are made with milk, salt, cultures and enzymes, plus any flavours. Although simple on the surface, there’s many different options for each of these ingredients and the quantities and quality of each will be varied based on the unique cheese recipe.,” Hughes said.

An example was Mainland Tasty, which used unique cultures and enzymes to deliver the taste, whereas Kāpiti Blue cheeses used a mould strain which was more than 70 years old.

Owner of Over The Moon cheese Sue Arthur said in New Zealand cheesemakers must list all the ingredients on the label.

“So you just need to check out the label to see what is in the product,” Arthur said.

“Typically, our cheeses are made from milk, rennet, bacteria culture and salt. Then any other things like flavouring like cranberries,” she said.

New Zealanders are paying almost twice as much for cheese as Australian shoppers.

A Countdown spokesperson said its home brand cheese blocks were made in New Zealand, but would not say who produced it or where because “those arrangements are commercially sensitive”.

A Foodstuffs spokesperson said all Pams block cheeses like Tasty, Colby, Edam were made in New Zealand by “reputable NZ cheese manufacturers”. In the past some Pams speciality cheeses like brie had been imported from Australia, but these were all now locally made.

“Different types of cheese typically have the same, or similar ingredients, but the composition will vary by brand, or manufacturer.

”The price we pay at checkout depends on a number of factors including the volume made, cost of ingredients, packaging and the time taken to make and mature the cheese,” the spokesperson said.

Dr Sally Mackay, registered nutritionist and senior lecturer at University of Auckland, said it was interesting that supermarkets would not disclose who manufacturesd their cheese.

“[It is] not very transparent, and as a consumer I would like to know who manufactured a product I bought,” Mackay said.

“Some consumers are concerned about various ethical aspects of companies, such as labour, sustainability issues and cannot check this if they don't know the manufacturer.”

Mackay said the price of cheese was notoriously volatile. There was almost always a block of cheese on special by a different brand each week.

“With Edam cheese the ingredients are the same and so is the flavour. With Tasty cheese there can be variation in flavour as well as price – sometimes the cheaper cheeses have not been aged for so long so are a milder flavour.

“I think this price variation is more common with large blocks of cheese than other dairy products.”

Kiwi shoppers also paid more for a block of cheese than Australians.

A Countdown-branded 1kg block of Tasty Cheese sold for $18.50 in New Zealand in May. While in Australia the same block sold by Countdown parent company Woolworths for A$9.90 (NZ$10.88).

A 500g block of Mainland cheese, a Fonterra brand, was $14 in New Zealand in May and $8.25 in Australia.

Countdown said at the time while the cheeses had the same name, tasty cheese in Australia was different to tasty cheese in New Zealand, and so had different costs associated, but the biggest driver in the price difference was the amount paid to suppliers.