Germans help themselves to less choice

Cheese marketing experts in Germany have identified a trend stemming from the continuing battle between over-the-counter and self-service cheese sales that has hit turnover growth of premium products.
There is no doubt that self-service increasingly attracts consumers at the expense of counter sales, and the fact that cheese sales are continuing to expand in Germany means there is growing pressure for space on supermarket shelves.
Because expansion is, in most cases, impossible, competition is ruthless and the first casualties in Germany are niche market goods. While manufacturers of these cheeses have turned to self-service packaging to attract more customers, the products still cannot generate sufficient turnover to justify a lot of valuable cool cabinet space.
A good example of this development features blue mould cheese which has a small (1%) market share, but is now experiencing faltering sales because of the self-service space syndrome.
Main brands of blue mould cheese in Germany include Danish Blue and Rosenburg from MD Foods, Bavaria Blue from Bergader, Blue Castello, Blue Note and Saga from market leaders Tholstrup of Denmark and Bresso