Market Intelligence: Export Opportunities to Asia and the Middle East

As part of the overall DBIA goal of assisting the United States dairy industry, research was conducted to provide insight into opportunities to increase export sales. Both the Asia Pacific Region and the Middle East have seen continued growth in cheese & dairy markets. Due to this growth, these regions have been identified as possible places to grow export sales. This DBIA funded research was carried out to identify opportunities and analyze products that are sought after in these regions, thereby providing insights to help US dairy producers create products to meet this demand. This research was also done to gain insight into international consumers' sensory preferences and how they view products from the United States.

With the initial insights from the Mintel presentation, a number of key products or product types were identified. The original DBIA goal was to import a variety of products from Asian countries using a certified importer. However, despite numerous attempts, no company was able or willing to provide the service required due to the complexity and costs involved. This required an alternate method of procuring relevant samples.

The website Yamibuy, an e-commerce site serving as an online Asian marketplace within the U.S., was identified as a potential solution. Yami itself was created to address the lack of Asian goods in the United States outside of major metropolitan areas. DBIA staff identified products containing various types of cheeses and ordered several products for sampling and sensory analysis.

In total, twenty-four products were purchased for further evaluation in throughout the spring and summer of 2023. The types of products included: sandwich cookies (with a cream filling), cheese stick type products, smoked cheese products, cheese/fish products and freeze-dried products. After receiving the products, DBIA staff met with the sensory coordinator to select products for further evaluation.

The initial questionnaire was developed by DBIA staff with assistance from the CDR Sensory Coordinator. Six products were identified for the initial round based on representing the breadth of products to be sampled. Samples of the first six products (product numbers 1-6) were sent home with CDR staff familiar with cheese evaluation and manufacturing. They were asked questions about the products and evaluated them individually at their own pace. The evaluation kit contained the samples themselves, as well as translations of the product name, product description, and ingredient list. Results and feedback from this initial exercise were used to prepare and refine the evaluations conducted in July 2023, however, no major changes were subsequently made to the procedure already outlined.

The remainder of the samples were then evaluated in two sessions, each about one hour long. Again, CDR staff were utilized that were familiar with both cheese sensory evaluation as well as cheese manufacturing, but this time the evaluation happened with all participants in the same room. Some participants were unique to each session, and some participants participated in both sessions. Similarly, some products were evaluated in only one session, and some products were evaluated in both sessions. The CDR sensory coordinator helped facilitate and moderate the discussion as well as asked follow-up questions.

Over the course of the evaluation, some overarching themes became apparent. First, with rare exception the flavor of the natural cheese was not prominent or even accurate in the products. Most commonly it was a savory/yeasty type note, or just a very generic “cheesy” quality. Some cheeses specifically claimed to be used included camembert, cheddar, Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano Reggiano, among others, but the characteristic flavors of these cheeses were by and large not present.

Secondly, when cheese was incorporated as an ingredient it almost always appeared to be as a cheese powder or processed cheese rather than truly using the native version of the cheese. Being that all but 2 of the products evaluated were shelf stable, this tends to make sense.

Additionally, there appeared to be two major flavor profiles that were employed. One was cheese as part of a sweet component, and another was cheese as part of a savory component. While in the US “sweet” cheeses might be things like cream cheese, there were several examples of products where it would traditionally be seen as savory in the US (like cheddar) that was blended with sugar and fat to create a creamy filling, like an Oreo crème. There were a few sweet offerings that did not use cheese, merely dairy powders, but evoked the feeling of cheese by being shaped like cheese or described as cheese. The savory offerings tended to use processed cheese, complimenting something like a fish pairing, or relying more on yeasty/umami flavors rather than actual cheese flavor.

When thinking in the context of the objective of this study, it appears that high quality natural cheese that Wisconsin and the US is known for and proud of, unfortunately are probably not a great fit for use in these Asian snacking applications. Rather, cheese solids used for process cheese or spray drying cheese powder appear to be a much better fit. This may provide an outlet for lower value cheese solids such as non-conforming products, cheese trim, cheese fines etc. More research may need to be done as to where cheese powder and processed cheese is currently sourced for manufacturing these snacks and whether current suppliers are sourcing from the United States, and if so, are already utilizing lower value cheese solids.

One other perspective on utilizing US cheese in these Asian snacking cheese products is the apparent lack of awareness or brand recognition of cheese from Wisconsin and/or the U.S. as something premium, valued, desired, or superior. This was evidenced by choosing to reference specific Italian cheeses like Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano, rather than any popular local brands/varieties. There was also a product roughly translated as “perfect cheese” (Product 11) that mentioned New York rather than Wisconsin. More research may be needed into this assertion but building a brand to view Wisconsin cheese as desirable may take considerable investment and may have limited impact. Brands that currently utilize or highlight PDO cheese may be difficult to persuade.

U.S. Cheese manufacturers wishing to demonstrate their products for Asian markets should look to incorporate these recommendations. CDR has developed several basic formulations as starting points for further work; the formulations are included in the next section. Additional support from CDR is available should a cheesemaker want to adapt a formulation for their business.

CDR staff has developed a few initial formulations (in the full report download below) as a starting point. For any dairy businesses interested in further development of an export formulation, please contact CDR.