Goat cheese growth static in Germany

Producers of goat milk cheese in Europe claim continually-growing markets although some of the official statistics, for instance from Germany’s Milk Industry Association, contradict this pointing to overall stagnating sales in Europe for the past five years. Certainly, there’s no shortage of new products in this sector where big names such as FrieslandCampina (the top Dutch producer) and Arla (Buko cream cheese with goat milk content) join the traditional specialist dairies and small on-farm operations on the European market.

From the first group comes the Vandersterre cheese company based in the Netherlands. Although cow milk cheese (e.g. Prima Donna) represents the major business for this cheese producer, packer and merchant, it claims goat milk cheese is becoming increasingly important to the dairy and underlines this with the introduction this summer of two new products under its Landana label. Landana Chèvre Naturelle is a 27% fat cream cheese with walnuts and fenugreek seeds. The one kg cheese comes packaged in blister units. Vandersterre aims more at the self-service shelves with its other new goat milk product – Landana Mild cream cheese packaged in 150g pots and with just 16% fat.