Cheese & New Uses: When Consumption Occasions Are Being Reinvented

1. An Iconic Product Adapting to New Habits

Cheese is one of the pillars of French cuisine. Yet the way people consume it is changing. Traditional occasions, the cheese board at the end of a meal, a hand-cut slice, are no longer the only ways to enjoy it. New occasions are emerging and making their mark: as an aperitif, at breakfast, incorporated into cooked recipes, or featured in seasonal dishes.

These new uses are far from trivial. They reflect a deep transformation in eating behaviours, driven in particular by younger generations, and they represent a major opportunity for brands and retailers who know how to adapt.

It is precisely around these purchasing journeys that Matcha has built part of its solution, and the data speaks for itself.

2. Four Uses Reshaping Cheese Consumption

🍕 Cooking: Hot Cheese Is Taking Up More Space

This is arguably the most striking trend. 23.5% of Matcha solution users follow the "To Cook" journey, a figure that reflects consumers' appetite for cheese as a fully-fledged ingredient.

It comes as no surprise: according to CNIEL, 1/3 of cheese consumption among under-35s now happens "hot", on pizzas, quiches, gratins or burgers. Cheese no longer just sits on the plate, it melts into the dish. This shift requires brands to think about their products, and their online presence, through the lens of culinary use.

🌿 Seasonal Dishes: A Growing Sensitivity to the Rhythm of the Year

Cheese follows the seasons too. The "Summer Salads" (7.2%) and "Winter Dishes" (5.6%) journeys show that consumers naturally associate certain cheeses with specific times of year.

A trend that aligns with a broader figure: 12% of French consumers prioritise seasonal dishes (Too Good To Go x Appinio 2025 study). For players in the sector, this opens up a clear avenue: contextualising cheese offerings around seasonality to better resonate with what consumers are craving at any given moment.

🧀 The Aperitif: Innovation at the Service of Snacking

With 8.8% usage of the "Aperitif & Slices" journey, the aperitif occasion is establishing itself as a particularly active ground for innovation, especially in terms of formats. Individual portions, on-the-go products... brands are multiplying references designed for this convivial moment, whether indoors or outdoors!

But beyond formats, it's also the classics being reinvented or repurposed for the aperitif occasion. Breaded camembert rounds, raclette for dipping grissini, and bite-sized mini cheeses perfectly illustrate this dynamic: aperitif cheese is becoming a category in its own right, with its own codes, formats and rituals.

☀️ Breakfast: An Emerging Use, Driven by Nutrition

With 3% usage of the "Breakfast" journey, this occasion is still a minority, but its potential is real. It is underpinned by an increasingly favourable perception of cheese as a healthy and nutritious food.

According to the Global Cheese Report 2021 (Tetra Pak), in a study conducted across 9 countries: 56% of consumers recognise that cheese is healthy, 51% consider it nutritious, 42% highlight its high protein content and 41% its calcium content. These strengths echo broader trends around protein and functional nutrition, and could make morning cheese a genuine growth driver.

3. Why These Uses Are at the Heart of the Matcha Solution

Identifying these consumption occasions is one thing. Activating them at the right moment, in the right context, for the right consumer, that's even better! And that's where Matcha comes in.

The Matcha solution structures purchasing journeys around these concrete use cases, enabling shoppers to quickly find the product that matches their moment of consumption: a grating cheese for the evening quiche, an on-the-go format for Friday aperitifs, a protein-rich slice for breakfast in the morning.

This use-oriented journey approach improves the online shopping experience, simplifies navigation across often very wide aisles, and creates discovery opportunities for products that, without context, might go unnoticed.

But as needs and preferences evolve ever faster, having a complete view of purchasing behaviour is essential. That's why Matcha also offers access to exclusive shopper data, giving brands and retailers a deeper understanding of how shoppers interact with the solution — what criteria they select, what keywords they type into Search, what formats they prefer most... all insights that help refine product strategy.

Conclusion

Cheese remains a staple of everyday French life, but the moments in which it is consumed are evolving. It is no longer limited to the end of a meal. Today, it shows up at breakfast, at the aperitif, in snacking and hot cooking alike!

That is precisely why we chose to make consumption occasions the entry point of our solution. With this use-case-driven approach, we can better respond to new expectations, simplify choice, and shine a spotlight on innovation.