Mozzarella: A rising star
Consumers already eat 1.5 million tonnes of pizza a year and this is predicted to continue to grow.1
Spotlight on China
While consumers are getting a good taste of mozzarella outside home, they are also buying it and taking it home to use for cooking.
NZMP research in China earlier this year, shows that mozzarella has the highest household penetration of all cheeses with 44% of consumers in tier one cities buying it regularly.2
What’s more mozzarella is proving to be very versatile with Chinese consumers stretching its use into a variety of dishes including western and eastern.
| Pizza | 50% |
| Toasted sandwich | 48% |
| Grilled cheese on toast | 44% |
| Pasta bake | 35% |
| Fondue | 33% |
| Rice dishes | 30% |
| Meat dishes | 30% |
| Noodles | 25% |
What is Chinese consumers ideal mozzarella? It should be milky, smooth, stretchy and light yellow to yellow colour. This is not surprising as New Zealand is one of the dominant exporters of cheese into China.3
1GIRA report 2018
2Investigation into Cheese cooking in China 2018 Glasshouse Consulting with 1000 consumers in Tier One Cities
3China Business Trade Cheese Study 2017 Frost and Sullivan
