Marc Koch of TMK Creamery and Distillery (Canby, OR) shares a cheese board with curds and more!
What’s Hot at the Cheese Counter?
A panel at the January 24, 2026 Cheesemaker Education Day focused on trends in dairy, including how social media is driving attention to cheese as a high-protein and viral trend. (Think creative names like Angry Cats or Olivia.)
According to speakers Hillary Renshaw (New Seasons Market) and Steve Jones (Chef’s Warehouse), trends include:
What can cheesemakers do to help sell more cheese? Spoiler: SAMPLES SAMPLES SAMPLES
- In-store demos (Oregon Cheese Month and other tie-ins)
- More easily in local distribution when ordering direct is too complicated
- Note: Passive sampling (cubes in a bowl) isn’t effective because customers don’t hear your story or engage to buy
- Make sure your excellent sample gets to the person
What are people asking for?
- Sheep, brie, goat, bloomy, tripe crème, cheddar, alpine, aged, marinated fetas
What cheese styles are selling well?
- Consistently: Cheddar, Gouda, Parmesan, Brie, Manchego.
- Trending: Raclette; soft-ripened; young Gouda; Halloumi, butterkase; d’affinois; goat; blue; etc.
Flavors selling well, especially in urban areas:
- Consistently – Spicy, garlic, truffle, smoked
- Trending: Honey clover, nettle, specifics like Hatch Chili, Black Garlic, Maple Bourbon and booze-d
Packaging and labelling: Cut to order cheese is only about 10% of the market, so the shrink-wrapped plastic model is continuing from COVID. Trending:
- Small cuts, small formats, cubes, small amounts for snacking (like round babies)
- Cute stickers/labels, such as
Price: 25% markup for distribution, then retailer adds double. So, $10 is in retail case at $25. (Think about final price to consumer to avoid uphill battles.).
Think of making cheese for quick capital, making it one day and selling that week.