The 17th annual South African Cheese Festival provided a taste experience to festival goers and it allowed a number of small cheesemakers the opportunity to receive significant exposure for their businesses and products.
The festival took place over the Freedom Day long weekend, from 27 – 29 April, at Sandringham outside of Stellenbosch.
Isabeau Botha, corporate communications manager for Agri-Expo said, “The festival opens retail doors for some small cheesemakers”.
“We had more than 150 stalls, and cheese from 25 different producers in South Africa. There were companies who sell their cheese internationally and companies who sell artisanal handcrafted cheese locally,” she said.
The South African Cheese festival saw 30,000 visitors over the long weekend and Botha said this allowed substantial publicity for the cheese companies.
WATCH: Small cheesemakers prosper at the SA Cheese Festival
Francy Schoeman, co-owner of Langbaken Karoo Cheese said that the festival has been really good at promoting small cheese makers. “It gives us a platform for us to expose our products to the public,” she said.
“Most of our cheese goes to the Cape via courier, so for us to physically speak to the people who buy the cheese is always a pleasure.”
Cheese festival-goers were provided with a variety of choices at the Taste the Alternative exhibition where more than 40 stalls sold niche products such as pomegranates, berries, figs and honeybush tea.
Lize Weideman, sales manager and marketing coordinator from By den Weg, said they benefit greatly from having a stall at the festival. Their berry farm outside of Stellenbosch specialises in glazes and jams.
Weideman said, “This festival makes a big difference to our business. In the two months after the festival you can see an increase in the sales. It is also a excellent opportunity to introduce our products to suppliers.”
Agri-Expo and the Western Cape Department of Agriculture were the organisers of the festival and Botha said their aim is to tell positive stories about agriculture.