UNION, N.J. — Arla Foods Inc., the U.S. arm of Arla Foods amba, a Danish dairy foods company, continues to refine and add to its line of both imported and domestic cheeses.

Arla, through its predecessor company MD Foods, has long imported cheese into the United States. However, the lines of cheese it imports remain anything but stagnant as the company continues to introduce popular value-added Danish items to U.S. consumers.

"A lot of the things we're doing right now are strengthening what we've already been doing," says Jens Kauffmann, marketing manager, Arla Foods Inc. "If we don't feel we can give the retailer a benefit, we won't touch it."

• Updating the Rosenborg brand

One of the most recent launches is Noble Blue, a mild, creamy blue in 6.25-ounce rectangles that is being introduced this fall. The product is one of the company's many blue cheeses sold under the Rosenborg brand, the largest imported blue brand in the nation, according to Kauffmann.

The line, which features blue in several varieties including traditional, extra creamy and mellow, also is in the midst of a facelift, with new labeling featuring a castle in the background. Packaging is being updated, with color-coded banners to depict the strength of the cheese. Foil-wrapped Rosenborg wedges also are being color-coded. For example, the company's yogurt culture blue is in a light blue package and the extra creamy product is being marketed with gold packaging. Traditional products are in a deep royal blue.

"It makes it easier for the consumer to understand what it is they are buying," Kauffmann says, noting that while the change isn't radical, it's a big enough difference that consumers will certainly notice the change.

"It was time to redo the packaging and labels after being in the current market for so many years," he adds.

The new packaging is arriving in stores this month.

Under the Rosenborg label, the company also will be introducing flavored Brie in 2003. The company already offers Rosenborg Brie and Camembert but will be adding Brie topped with garden vegetables and Brie with blue cheese in the middle.

The company is marketing the new labeling and the line extensions in a number of different ways, including mail-in coupons affixed to wedges and cups of crumbled blue that give consumers the opportunity to receive a calendar that includes information on cooking with blue cheese and product coupons.

The calendar promotion is generally available where Rosenborg products are sold, but many of the promotions Arla offers, whether it be for Rosenborg or its other brands such as Dofino, Mediterra and Lurpak, are tailor-made for the needs of the retailer, Kauffmann says.

"We try to customize whatever it is they need," he says.

The company believes in building strong relationships and good distribution systems at the regional level, he says.

• Succeeding in two arenas

Building strong relationships also comes into play in the production of the company's only domestically-produced product, Dofino brand Havarti, which the company introduced in 1998. The cheese is produced by White Clover Dairy, Kaukauna, Wis., which Arla picked because of its high-quality operation. The cheese is produced under the supervision of a Danish-trained Arla staff member and to Arla's specifications.

Arla continues to grow and expand the Dofino brand, which is currently settling into new packaging as well, Kauffmann says. Since being introduced four years ago, the company has redone the packaging several times in an effort to provide U.S. consumers with the highest quality, freshest product, Kauffmann says.

When it was first launched, the cheese was sold in a "rigid, deep-drawn" container that consisted of a plastic cup with ridges and a peel-back plastic covering. However, while popular in Denmark, the packaging didn't do as well as hoped in the United States because cheese is merchandised differently across the Atlantic, says Kauffmann.

As a result, the packaging often drew condensation, which sent Arla back to the drawing board. For about a year, the company tried cryovac for the 8-ounce chunks of Havarti. However, cryovac also wasn't the right answer because the company believed it didn't keep the cheese's eye formation intact, Kauffmann says.

Finally, though, after several reiterations, the company is confident it has settled on packaging that will keep the Havarti fresh and maintain its open eye structure. The "soft, deep-drawn" packaging has many of the same features as the rigid deep-drawn, including an easy-open tab on the back, but solves the problems that the company faced earlier. This new packaging is flexible enough to adjust to the size of the piece of cheese, allowing just the right amount of breathability, and also sets the cheese apart from other cheeses in the dairy case.

"The retail package and the entire presentation of the product are now just as we want them," Kauffmann says.

The company continues to work with the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board to co-sponsor demo programs that include Dofino brand Havarti, and has seen an increase in the consumer usage of Dofino coupons, Kauffmann adds.

Dofino isn't the company's only Havarti. Arla also successfully imports Danish Havarti under the Denmark's Finest label, which has a larger share of the overall Havarti market than does Dofino. Both the imported and domestic products do well and don't cannibalize each other, Kauffmann says. In fact, in many instances offering both domestic and imported Havarti gives the company an entrée when dealing with potential customers.

The goals behind the two lines are very different, Kauffmann notes. For Dofino, the goal is to be the No. 1 domestic Havarti that is popular as an everyday eating cheese. Denmark's Finest cheese is promoted as an upscale cheese for special occasions.

• Offering a variety of dairy products

Arla also sells other cheese under the Denmark's Finest label, such as Havarti, Fontina, Tilsit and Cave Cheese, which round out the company's ability to be a full-service supplier. Making up the rest of Arla's imported lineup are Mediterranean-style cheeses sold under the Mediterra brand.

In addition, the company continues to do well with its Lurpak brand butter, the largest imported butter brand in the United States. The company touts the product as the "world's best butter" since it has been recognized with a gold award by the American Tasting Institute. Rosenborg mellow blue, traditional blue and extra creamy blue also have received gold awards.

Arla focuses its efforts on providing its customers high quality products that are known for their consistency and convenience, whether it comes to cheese or butter, domestic or imported product, according to Kauffmann. For "bulk" items, the company provides ready-to-use repack labels, he notes. And the company's large use of UPC-coded, fixed-weight product continues to be an important way the company expands in the U.S. market, he adds.

CMN