World Report

he Swiss, living at the heart of Europe, enjoy an international cuisine. But if asked what food product Switzerland is famous for, most people would probably say chocolate and cheese.
The Swiss are master dairymen and milk is a key constituent not only for chocolate but also for the country’s biggest cheese exporter, the Lucerne-based Emmi Group.
Since taking over the Swiss Dairy Food company earlier this year, Emmi has become the largest milk group in Switzerland and consolidated its position as the leading domestic cheesemaker. Its cheese exports represent 60 per cent of total Swiss cheese exports. The group’s cheese production is around 80,000 tonnes and this part of its business alone will this year account for around £420 million turnover.

Wyss
‘Historically Swiss cheese has always been popular’

Emmi makes a wide range of traditional Swiss cheeses, including the familiar Gruyere and Emmentaler which are matured in caves, and others including Grisons mountain cheese, Tilsiter and Appenzeller. The group also produces speciality processed cheeses for fondue, and mozzarella for the domestic market.
Chief executive Fritz Wyss says the group expects an annual growth rate of about three per cent over the next three years. Some of this growth will come from increased sales of yoghurts, desserts and other milk products.
Emmi exports to Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain and other European nations, as well as the United States and Canada. Products with a long shelf-life are exported as far as South East Asia.
“We have not been very active in the UK,” says Mr Wyss. “For fresh products, our strategy has been to work on the countries around Switzerland. This has a lot to do with logistics. Until recently we have not owned any companies that specialise in exports to the UK. But this will change, because we have taken over companies that do more in Britain.

“Historically, Swiss cheese has always been very popular and very well-known in countries that have a high consumption of cheese as a dessert, such as France or Italy. Britain has a different cheese culture – the British use cheese more for sandwiches, rather than for dessert. But we will work on this, because we know the British will appreciate our good cheeses.”
The increasing demand for health food products led Emmi to develop Aktifit, a milk-based drink. However, Mr Wyss believes marketing such products can be an uphill struggle.

“The pharmaceutical industry works against us,” he says. “They prefer people to eat pills, not healthy food. But we have created a lot of new products with a low fat content and there is a big growth in this area.”
He adds: “There are two trends in food consumption. One is fast food, or convenience food, which must be healthy, not like hamburgers. Secondly, once or twice a week, people want something that is very good from the quality point of view, such as a bottle of wine and a very old, cave-aged Emmentaler.”