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Published Sunday, March 12, 2000, in the San Jose Mercury News

California cheese makes pitch for No. 1

BY DALE RODEBAUGH
Mercury News Staff Writer

Wisconsinites entering California are asked at an agricultural stop their reason for visiting. ``The movie stars,'' they say nervously. As the family pulls away, one station guard says to the other, ``Do you think it was the cheese?'' ``You betcha,'' the other answers.

This television ad is part of a five-year, $20 million-a-year advertising blitz by the California Milk Advisory Board to convince consumers that this state's cheese is the best in the world.

And it seems to be working.

California, which dethroned Wisconsin as the nation's leading milk-producing state seven years ago, is now on course to wrest away its cheese-making crown, according to milk board spokeswoman Nancy Fletcher.

Fifth worldwide

``People don't think of California as a dairy state, but we'll be producing more cheese than Wisconsin by 2005, maybe sooner,'' she said.

If California were a nation, it would rank fifth worldwide as a cheese maker, eighth in milk production.

``The cheese ads worked because they made a product that had a bland personality seem interesting and dynamic,'' said Walter Menzel, senior vice president at McCann-Erickson, the firm that did the TV spots.

Cheese's growing popularity is driven by dieters sick of sacrifice and fast-food junkies scouting for new snacks. And California is giving them what they want, with increasing production and kinds of cheese, including Hispanic varieties driven by a burgeoning Latino population and the popularity of its cuisine.

``People want to be healthy, but they want to put some pleasure back in eating. So they're trying to strike a happy medium by buying real ingredients -- like cheese -- that taste good but at the same time they're eating less,'' said Los Altos cooking instructor and registered dietitian Gigi Acker.

The trend also is being propelled by upscale restaurants and a growing number of adventurous consumers eager to experience new tastes and textures, Fletcher said.

``Cheese is catching on big time,'' agrees Patrick Farjas, a chef at the trendy Plumed Horse in Saratoga. Many diners now ask for cheese plate appetizers in which they can sample a variety, he said.

One particularly hot product is Hispanic-style cheese -- its market fueled by a growing Latino population and an increasing taste among all residents for Mexican dishes. Sales of Hispanic cheese has grown more than threefold in 12 years.

The 30-year-old Ariza Cheese Co. near Los Angeles, the first in the country to produce Hispanic cheeses, sells across the country.

``There's even a demand for Hispanic cheeses in Kansas City, not a traditionally Spanish-speaking area,'' said Blake Johnson, general manager. `We've built our reputation on our cotija. (pronounced ko-TEE-ha). It'll blow away any Parmesan or Romano you've ever tasted.''

Upward trend

Sales of cheese of all kinds will most likely continue on an upward trend, Fletcher predicts, based on the state's growing dairy herds, scientific advances that have tripled annual per-cow milk production since World War II and the ongoing ad campaign that is making California cheese a hot commodity.

Cheese today is a $2 billion a year industry, said Dick Grove of the Cheese Reporter, an industry newsletter. Five years ago, it was $1.1 billion, he said.

In the last four years -- a period many chefs say witnessed an increased interest in cheese and cuisine with cheese -- state cheese production went up nearly 30 percent. In the decade from 1988 to 1998, it grew 129 percent.

It takes 10 pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese. Almost half the milk produced by California cows -- 21,000 pounds per cow last year -- goes to cheese makers. They range from giant Kraft Foods to cooperatives such as Los Banos-based California Dairies Inc., the second-largest dairy cooperative in the nation, to artisans who handcraft their own specialties. The latter group makes up one-third of the state's cheese makers.

``The future of milk is cheese,'' said Franklin Peluso, a third-generation Los Banos cheese maker.

California's skyrocketing cheese production reflects proliferating varieties as well as sheer growth. In 1995 when the milk advisory board began promoting the handiwork of state cheese makers, they were offering 70 varieties and styles. Today there are 130.

Wider acceptance

``Our sales very consistently go up 10 percent a year,'' said Johnson of Ariza cheeses. ``Hispanic cheeses are catching on because of the influx of Spanish-speaking immigrants. They're the No. 1 minority, and the population is only going to get bigger.''

Hispanic cheeses also are finding wider acceptance in other communities, he said.

``Mexican snacks are the biggest-selling fast food. And some people just want a more authentic taste. Instead of slapping Velveeta on a nacho, they'll add a cheese like our cotija (a hard, crumbly cheese used as a topping on many dishes),'' Johnson said.

The most popular cheeses are still the old standards. Mozzarella accounts for 49 percent of California cheese production. Cheddar follows with 30 percent, and Monterey Jack with 11 percent.

But consumers are acquiring a taste for lesser-known treats such as smoked jack, creamy requeson (ray-kay-SOHN), Mexican cottage cheese, and nippy jalapeño-flavored cotija.

Boom in production

California produces one of every six pounds of cheese made in the United States, including one out of every four pounds of mozzarella. Overall, state cheese production shot up 13.4 percent between 1998 and 1999. The national average for the same period was 5.9 percent.

The milk advisory board's $20-million-a-year marketing campaign to boost cheese sales across the nation as well as in California has proven fantastically successful, according to Fletcher.

The milk board's promotion concentrated on California at first, then zeroed in on Colorado in 1999 and Arizona this year.

``Our numbers are still going up,'' Fletcher said.