February 21, 2014
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ANCO Fine Cheese offers quality imports for deli and foodservice

QUALITY FRENCH — Ile de France is one of ANCO Fine Cheese’s best-known lines. The brand includes Brie, the leading imported Brie in the United States, as well as a true Normandy Camembert and Chèvre. This year Ile de France, along with other French brands ANCO handles, are sponsoring “Experience The French Touch,” a consumer promotion intended to teach and encourage U.S. consumers in the use of French cheeses.

ITALIAN IMPORTS — Il Villaggio is ANCO’s No. 2 top-selling brand and the No. 1 imported brand of Parmigiano Reggiano and imported Mascarpone.

By Kate Sander

FAIRFIELD, N.J. — ANCO Fine Cheese, one of the largest importers of specialty cheese in the United States, continues to develop its product line and reach out to meet the needs of foodservice and retail deli customers as well as consumers.

ANCO, which is owned by Schratter Foods, a subsidiary of Bongrain S.A., imports cheeses from more than 20 different countries. This includes product from Bongrain SA, Friesland Campina and Wensleydale Creamery. For many of the products it imports, ANCO is the exclusive U.S. importer.

“We are a fully integrated company — handling and servicing brands, offering warehousing and training with total control over our supply chain from the cheese plant to the store,” says Sebastien Lehembre, marketing manager, ANCO Fine Cheese.

The company sources its cheese directly from overseas manufacturers and cuts and wraps when necessary at its own facility in Moonachie, N.J. The ANCO facility features Cryovac, L-seal and Hayssen packaging capabilities as well as smoking and Blue cheese rooms. The company recently began offering a full line of shreds for foodservice that are processed at the Moonachie plant.

ANCO is well-equipped to service its customers nationwide, says Bob Constantino, executive vice president, ANCO. The company distributes cheeses throughout the United States from its five distribution centers located in Elizabeth, N.J.; Charlotte, N.C.; Miami, Fla.; Houston, Texas; and Los Angeles, Calif. This guarantees freshness and food safety control, Lehembre says. The company offers direct-store-delivery and also works with broker networks, offering a great deal of flexibility for individual customers’ needs.

This includes working with customers on training and marketing programs. With access to proprietary market research and consumer insights, ANCO can provide category management, training and merchandising support, not to mention volume-boosting in-store events and promotion, Constantino says. However, it is not a one-size-fits-all approach.

“We can be very involved in SKU management and analyzation, and sometimes we play just the role of the distributor,” Constantino says.

Knowing every customer has different needs, the company is able to provide as much or as little marketing assistance as a retailer desires, he adds.

ANCO also boasts a strong training program, Lehembre says, noting that ANCO’s lead trainer, who is certified by the American Cheese Society, works closely with deli managers and buyers to train them about the many cheeses the company offers. In addition, ANCO has a “five-star” training manual for customers, he says.

ANCO excels at creating consumer excitement at the store level with customized point-of-sale materials for retailers and in-store events, he says.

Additionally, consistency in its product lines is a key strength for ANCO. Primarily importing company-owned cheeses or cheeses for which it has exclusive import agreements, ANCO representatives are not out shopping around for the best-priced cheese but instead have a consistent, high-quality supply, Constantino says. In addition, because of the company’s size and scale, it also has the ability to locate other products a customer may be searching for, further solidifying ANCO’s positioning as a one-stop shop for a retailer or foodservice customers’ needs.

One of the lines for which ANCO is best known is the Ile de France brand. The brand includes Brie, the leading imported Brie in the United States, as well as a true Normandy Camembert and Chèvre.

Other French brands ANCO carries include St. André, Suprême and St. Agur, a buttery Blue cheese.

This year, Ile de France, St. André, Suprême and St. Agur are sponsoring “Experience The French Touch,” a consumer promotion intended to teach and encourage U.S. consumers in the use of French cheeses. The promotion will offer unique pairing ideas and show how simple ingredients can be added together for a delicious “wow” factor. The promotion will include an online and social media presence, yearlong on and in-pack communication, in-store communications and seasonal promotions. Starting soon with an Easter “Start-It” promotion with prizes including the ultimate foodie set — wine cellar, glasses, dome, knives and cheese — the program then moves to a summer “Live-it” promo with a prize of a trip to Paris and then a holiday “Do-it” promo which includes a prize of a trip to the Culinary Institute of America filled with cooking classes and culinary experiences.

Il Villaggio, a major Italian brand ANCO imports, also will be sponsoring its own Italian cheese promotion this year. Il Villaggio is ANCO’s No. 2 top-selling brand and the No. 1 imported brand of Parmigiano Reggiano and imported Mascarpone.

In keeping with the growing popularity of Italian cheese nationwide, the Il Villaggio brand will offer American consumers “The Italian Kitchen Promotion,” which, like its French cheese promotion counterpart, will include all aspects of marketing including social media and on-pack and in-store programs. It also starts with an Easter promotion, and then moves to the summer and later a fall/winter holidays promotion. Prizes include customized utensils that are the best of Italian cuisine such as a pasta maker, sauce and cooking sets, as well as a trip to Rome and an Italian motorcycle, the Vespa S50 4V.

Aiding in the development of these promotions is a corporate chef who was hired last year, Lehembre says. Having a corporate chef on board not only is helpful in recipe development, but also in sales calls with foodservice customers and showcasing different ways the cheeses can be utilized.

In addition to generating excitement for its best-known brands, ANCO also is carrying several new SKUs under these brands as well as others.

Additions to the Ile de France line this past year are Chèvremousse, a versatile whipped goat cheese, and Crème de Bleu, a spreadable Blue cheese with real blue crumbles. New items under the Il Villaggio brand are Asiago Fresco PDO and Montasio Mezzano PDO.

Last year, ANCO introduced to the United States la Cabaña, a new exclusive brand for the company. The line includes non-PDO Spanish cheeses such as Rosemary Goat, a pale color cheese with a creamy texture featuring balance between the goat flavor and fresh herbs, and Iberco, a cow/sheep/goat’s milk cheese aged three months.

Beginning this month, ANCO is offering a limited edition Red Fox-Red Leicester Crunch from the United Kingdom’s Belton Farm. The cheese is described as being made from a unique recipe using carefully selected cultures and then matured for a minimum of 15 months. Intense with a complex blend of sweet and savory flavors, the cheese is russet in color with a rugged mouthfeel and a hint of “crunch.” Also new from Belton Farm is a Blue Stilton. And for consumers seeking an on-the-go, high-quality snack, ANCO is offering Belton Farm Mature Cheddar Bites in 80-calorie portion-controlled resealable bags as well as larger packaging for foodservice. ANCO offers a full line of snacking cheese.

Meanwhile, Wensleydale cheeses, English cheeses particularly known for their added flavors such as cranberry and apricot, soon will feature new labeling noting the brand’s recently received Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status. The protected status means that no other cheesemakers outside of the designated Yorkshire Dales can produce a cheese and call it Yorkshire Wensleydale. The new labels will highlight the area’s dry stone walls and barns and the lush limestone pastures where the cows graze, as well as the stone signage for the market town of Hawes, where Wensleydale Creamery is situated. Wensleydale cheeses also are now being offered in easy-to-open 5.3-ounce consumer packs.

With people on the ground in multiple countries, Lehembre says ANCO is always on a “treasure hunt” for possible new cheeses to add to its portfolio.

This year, ANCO also is further developing its line of domestic cheeses. Valley Forge, which was established nearly 40 years ago as an introductory line of Classic American cheeses, has grown significantly and is currently being redesigned to capitalize on consumers’ interest in “locally made” and “all natural” as well to capture additional sales with “foodies” who are seeking a more premium product.

The newly designed line is being offered in two product ranges — the core line, which is ideal for everyday enjoyment and the more novice consumer, and Nature’s Reserve/Selection, premium selection cheese for special occasions and cheese connoisseurs with a focus on specific attributes such as aging, rBST-free and organic. Lehembre says ANCO will work with retailers to help them carry just the right balance of cheeses.

“We are sensitive to the needs of consumers and retailers, adapting the selection for each retailer,” he says.

The line will feature cheeses made in locations historically known for certain types of production, such as California Jack and Pennsylvania Swiss and will use the tagline “American Born.” Lehembre says ANCO is working with some of the best manufacturers in the United States to produce the line.

CMN