August 9, 2024
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Photo courtesy of Emmi Roth

GOOD, FETA, BEST — Emmi Roth’s newly launched Athenos Whipped Feta, which can be enjoyed as a spread or dip, has been well-received, while crumbled Feta remains the top-selling item in the Athenos Feta line.

Photo by Rena Archwamety/Cheese Market News

CLEAR VISION — The new Emmi Roth headquarters and conversion plant in Stoughton, Wisconsin, features inspirational reminders of the company’s mission and goals.

By Rena Archwamety

STOUGHTON, Wis. — With a brand new headquarters and conversion facility, specialty cheesemaker Emmi Roth is focused on expanding its offerings, particularly in its Athenos Feta line.

The company acquired the Athenos business in 2021, strengthening its position in the specialty cheese industry while also adding the need for more conversion and distribution capabilities. This was a major driver behind Emmi Roth’s decision to build its new 158,000-square-foot headquarters and state-of-the-art plant, which allows it to bring conversion capabilities in-house while adding more flexibility for product innovation.

“As the No. 1 brand in the Feta category, Emmi Roth continues to invest in growing Athenos,” says Tim Omer, president and managing director at Emmi Roth.

One-third of the Emmi Roth conversion space is dedicated to Athenos — chunking, crumbling and packaging. Other areas are cutting, wrapping, shredding and slicing the company’s other cheeses.

This marks the first time Emmi Roth has had in-house conversion capabilities.

The facility enables Emmi Roth to control more of its supply chain and improves the U.S. cheese industry’s overall conversion landscape.

“With conversion now within our supply chain, the new facility will drive growth opportunities for our great portfolio of cheeses, add even more value for customers and increase our ability to better serve them,” says Omer.

It is also the single biggest sustainability project in Emmi Roth’s history, allowing for a substantial reduction in the amount of fuel and emissions spent transporting cheeses.

From a sustainability standpoint, the new facility means:

• 49% reduction in transportation lanes, with 16 fewer lanes;
• 26% reduction in trips per year, or 1,407 fewer trips; and
• 44% reduction in kilometers/fuel/carbon dioxide, with 313,000 fewer kilometers, 113,075 fewer liters of fuel and 402 fewer tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

The facility is also all-electric, with no natural gas or propane service, which will help the company reduce its use of fossil fuels.

For the Athenos brand, the new conversion facility has allowed Emmi Roth to take a deeper look at innovation to meet its customers’ needs. This includes new packaging options, new sizes and new formats to help grow the business and meet demand for the well-known brand of Feta.

“We have an aggressive innovation plan for Athenos,” says Amie Wentz, director of brand management for Athenos. “A lot of that involves packaging and product we can impact here, which has been a really important step for our innovation plan.”

Currently Emmi Roth is testing various sizes and packaging options for its Athenos Feta line that eventually will result in new products. Additionally, it is partnering with Mexican spice brand Tajín, which makes a popular chili-lime seasoning of the same name, with plans to launch a new Tajín Feta crumbled variety by early 2025.

Emmi Roth last October launched a new creamy and tangy Athenos Whipped Feta Dip & Spread, making Feta more convenient for consumers to use on sandwiches, wraps, bagels, pita chips or vegetables. The Whipped Feta Dip & Spread comes in an 8-ounce tub that is available at stores nationwide.

Wentz notes that Athenos Whipped Feta sales have grown month over month, and it has been well-received by consumers.

“It’s a completely new usage occasion,” she says of Athenos Whipped Feta Dip & Spread. “We’re the first brand to make a Whipped Feta with Feta as the main ingredient, and we hope it changes the perception of how to eat Feta. It’s an easy entertaining option, different from others typically used at gatherings. It’s fresh and lighter than other cheese-based dips, and so far consumers are picking it up.”

Now in its third year with the Athenos

brand, Emmi Roth’s marketing team has been focused on teaching consumers new ways to use Feta through its signature campaign, “Food Needs Feta.”

“We know from our data that people use Feta on salads. Our job is to introduce new usage occasions,” Wentz says.

The campaign promotes Athenos Feta across the United States each year, focusing on new ideas and ways to eat Feta such as on tacos and burgers or in favorite dishes. Most advertising is digital to maximize efficiency and reach as many consumers as possible. This includes digital media, e-commerce such as Instacart, and anywhere consumers are looking for meal ideas.

“The Baked Feta Pasta social media trend definitely helped this campaign, showing a new way to use Feta on pasta,” Wentz says. “A lot of what we talk about is how to use Feta in a different way.”

The campaign right now is focused on promoting traditional Feta, and once the new Tajín flavor comes out, the marketing team will get ready to promote it in the spring. The company continues to look at new innovations and potential flavors in Whipped Feta and other products.

Among the new and traditional varieties, crumbled Feta remains far and away the most popular, comprising around 60% of all Feta sales.

“Crumbled Feta will always be the No.1 format,” Wentz says. “It’s the bread and butter of our portfolio, due to the ease of the format. We also have chunk and flavors, but crumbled is most popular.”

Athenos crumbled Feta is available in various packaging formats, including a popular hard plastic cup with a resealable flip top, as well as a peal-and-reseal package, where Emmi Roth has been working on innovation to improve how the package reseals.

Wentz notes that the company always is asking how it can introduce new products and formats that lead the Feta category.

“As the No. 1 brand, it’s our job to grow and lead the Feta category. We’re proud of this and take on a big responsibility in doing it. We’re very focused on being innovative as the leader,” she says.

“In marketing, we’re making sure we consistently are reminding consumers of Athenos. They can find us anywhere, so we make sure customers continue to choose us and keep choosing us as their trusted Feta brand,” adds Abby Despins, director of communications and digital marketing.

In addition to the new Whipped Feta, Emmi Roth also has been focused on promoting its new Roth Cheese Dips & Spreads, which have just started to launch. Flavors in this line include Buffalo Ranch Gouda, Chunky Blue, Jalapeño Havarti, Caramelized Onion, and Buttery Garlic & Herb.

In addition to offering a unique format and variety of favorite and trending flavors, Despins notes that these new spreads incorporate cheese left over from its conversion processes, which creates less waste. This new line also comes just in time for holiday events and entertaining.

“Roth Spreads are shipping now,” she says. “We’re focusing heavily on these during the holidays as a key item.”

Also for the holidays, Emmi Roth’s marketing team for the first time will be promoting cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery, which parent company Emmi acquired in 2016. Earlier this year, Cowgirl Creamery’s marketing activities were rolled into Emmi Roth, giving the California-based specialty cheesemaker greater promotional support.

Cowgirl Creamery has very holiday-friendly cheeses, such as its triple-cream Mt Tam and washed-rind triple-cream Red Hawk, and a holiday campaign is in the works for the fourth quarter, Wentz says.

“We have a reinvigorated online store so there is a lot of direct-to-consumer focus and growing that business,” says Despins, noting that Emmi Roth’s marketing team has gone from promoting two brands to four in the last few years. “For us, working on that brand is a dream come true, along with being able to work on Athenos.”

CMN