Wessanen, the Dutch hard cheese specialist and owner of the leading brand Leerdammer, has ventured into a new market with the introduction of a cream cheese product called Freshy.
It is no coincidence that the launch of Freshy, in reclosable 175g pots, follows the announcement that cream cheese is predicted to be one of the fastest growing product segments in Germany over the next five years. According to a survey of restaurant and industrial catering outlets by the central food market and price reporting organisation ZMP and the Weihenstephan Research Centre for Milk, 22% of respondents said cream cheese sales were set to soar.
Analysts believe the arrival of Freshy is a strong sign of the increasing influence over Wessanen of minority shareholder Campina Melkunie, which stepped-up its stake in the company last year by 100% and now owns an estimated 10% of the firm.
Although Wessanen is the third largest dairy business in the Netherlands, with a turnover of r388 million in 1999, its milk business across the Atlantic is worth over three times this after a spate of takeovers including Gillette, Nebraska and Oak Grove Dairies in the USA.