The cost of supermarket cheese varies wildly. Photo: 123RF
Is all supermarket cheese created equal? The answer, it seems, is no.
While blocks of tasty cheese are made from the same four basic ingredients - milk, salt, culture and rennet - a survey of supermarket prices shows some brands are nearly 50 percent more expensive than others.
Suppliers say that difference is not just down to the packaging - the amount of time and resource required to make the cheese factors into the price.
At Countdown in the Auckland suburb of Three Kings this week, a 1kg block of Woolworths brand tasty cheese was $13.90, while a 1kg block of Alpine tasty cheese was $19.90 - a whopping $6 difference.
New World Auckland Metro was not advertising 1kg tasty blocks online this week, but an 800g block of Pams was being sold for $10.19, while an 800g block of Rolling Meadow was $12.90.
A 700g block of Mainland tasty cheese cost $16.79 - $2.40 per 100g, compared to $1.27 per 100g for Pams.
Pak 'n Save Royal Oak's prices for its 800g blocks were similar: $8.99 for Pams and $12.99 for Rolling Meadow, while a 700g Mainland tasty cheese block was advertised for $13.29.
Guy Blaikie, the domestic sales director for Fonterra Brands NZ, which produces Mainland, said its tasty cheese was aged for up to 18 months, leading to the higher price.
At Countdown Three Kings this week, a 1kg block of Woolworths tasty cheese was $13.90, while a 1kg Alpine block was $19.90. Photo: RNZ
"We believe other [tasty] cheeses are only aged for around six to 12 months."
That gave Mainland its "superior taste and quality", he said.
"While the extra time we taking in aging our cheese for longer comes at a cost, we believe it's why Kiwis love the range."
Fonterra did not have control over the shelf price of its products. As a supplier, it could only recommend retail prices to supermarkets, Blaikie said.
A Foodstuffs New Zealand spokesperson said the price paid for a block of cheese at checkout depended on a number of factors, including the volume of cheese made, packaging, cost of ingredients and the time taken to make and mature the cheese.
Prices at different stores, which were individually owned and operated, varied depending on a number of factors - including the price paid to the supplier and whether the product was on special that week.
Supermarket cheese blocks generally had the same, or similar ingredients, but the composition varied by brand or manufacturer, the spokesperson said.
At New World Auckland Metro, Pams tasty cheese was $1.27 per 100g, compared to $2.40 per 100g for a similar-sized Mainland block. Photo: Supplied/New World
A Woolworths spokesperson said Woolworths' 1kg tasty blocks were sold at a low price because the company had "deliberately made a pricing investment" in the product.
"We know it's a household favourite for many of our customers and we're invested in keeping the price as low as possible for them."
Dairyworks, which produces the Alpine cheese brand, declined to comment.