Cheese consumption has been increasing at an incredible speed in China during the past few years, considering that not so long ago, almost all Chinese were abhorred about the smell of cheese. Cheese supply volume in China has surged from 140,000 tons to 270,000 tons during the period 2017-2022. This figure is expected to maintain double-digit growth, far above the world average for the coming years.

Although the average cheese consumption in China is far below many Western countries as well as Japan and Korea, it has significantly increased from 80g/person/year in 2017 to 130g/person/year in 2021. At the 2022 China Cheese Development Summit Forum, the Dairy Association of China released an action plan, proposing that the national cheese production would reach 500,000 tons by 2025. Much of the cheese sold in China is processed, but non-processed is increasing.

A uniquely Chinese development is that Chinese cheese producers are focusing their own R&D on developing one-bite cheese snacks, for all ages, but in particular for children. This is partly a result of the pressure of the Chinese authorities to increase dairy consumption among children. Such products include cheese sticks, cheese slices, cheese strips, etc. Cheese sticks form the most popular type, which was first launched by Milkana, but was popularized by Milkground. Presently, driven by the increasingly intensive market competition, dairy enterprises have rolled out a wide range of cheese sticks with distinctive features. Apart from various funny shapes, including ‘cheese lollies’, they are also experimenting with flavours. A good example are Milkana’s strawberry flavoured cheese sticks.

This ad by Milkground presents their range of cheese sticks in various flavors: coconut, grape and natural. It promises a calcium content 7 times that of liquid milk. It has added Vitamin D. The animals indicate how fast your child will grow, if you let them snack on Milkground cheese sticks.

The current trend towards more nutritious snacks is also influencing the design of cheese sticks. Dr Cheese has launched a cheese stick sandwiched between two layers of dried seaweed.

Cheespirit has launched a series of innovative products in 2023: ‘Vegetable & Fruit Growing Up Cheese Sticks’. The company claims to have selected 8 kinds of ‘super vegetables and fruits’ to create high-calcium and high-VC cheese sticks, containing 3% dietary fibre. The calcium is 100% milk calcium, with a 1.8:1 calcium-phosphorus ratio. The product contains 40% whey protein, as well as algal oil DHA and various trace elements derived from vegetables and fruits, providing nutrients such as protein, dietary fibre, vitamins and other basic nutrients needed by children. It contains no preservatives. It uses two innovative two-colour-flavours: Lele orange (tomato, carrot and apple compound flavour) that contains β-carotene; and absolute purple (purple sweet potato, purple cabbage blueberry complex flavour) containing anthocyanins to help the children’s growth.

If this post is of interest to you, you may also want to read:

Cheese in China – a gargantuan challenge

Peter Peverelli is active in and with China since 1975 and regularly travels to the remotest corners of that vast nation. He is a co-author of a major book introducing the cultural drivers behind China’s economic success. Peter has been involved with the Chinese food and beverage industries since 1985.