Cyprus Halloumi grips US audience

The CheesEU campaign of the EU-funded Cyprus Association for the Promotion of Dairy Products has significantly increased sales of halloumi cheese in the U.S. as it is selling out faster than being imported.
“The goal of the CheesEU campaign is to assist our partners in the US food industry at the retail level to increase awareness and sales of halloumi cheese among the American consumer,” stated Dennis Droushiotis, North American Managing Director of CheseEU.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) data reported that halloumi cheese imports to the U.S. increased by an astonishing 37% in the first quarter of 2009 as compared to the same period in 2008.
In addition to increasing sales it was equally important to protect halloumi’s originality with a U.S. certification mark. Droushiotis added, “our trademark in the U.S. helps to ensure that the American consumers will enjoy authentic halloumi from Cyprus made in the unique traditional method, that uses sheep’s and goat’s milk and folding the cheese by hand.”
During the two-year campaign, CheesEU featured halloumi in six national specialty food tradeshows as well as educational symposiums and press luncheons. It included national advertising in major consumer and trade publications, as well as over 400 in-store tastings for 2008 in key U.S. metropolitan markets, which took place in national supermarket chains, such as Whole Foods as well as regional grocery chain stores in various states, such as Sweetbay Supermarkets in Florida, Gristedes Grocery Stores in New York and Gelson’s Markets in California.
The campaign also included innovations resulting in immense publicity in the trade industry. For example, CheesEU joined efforts with world renowned culinary institutes in New York City in order to introduce halloumi to rising chefs attending culinary schools. The campaign partnered with celebrity chef Christine Cushing to curate and demonstrate exciting, delicious Halloumi recipes for cheese aficionado consumers to prepare in their households.
World-renown, celebrity chefs are discovering the unique versatility of halloumi as it can be grilled, broiled, barbequed or sautéed and still maintain its texture. Since the launch of the campaign, halloumi has repeatedly appeared on famous gourmet chef’s TV programs on the Food Network, such as Rachel Ray Show. In addition, Jeff McInnis from Top Chef Season 5 featured halloumi in his dish for the episode entitled, Twelve Nights of Christmas. Michael Psilakis, New York City chef and restaurateur, raves about his love for Mediterranean cheese and specifically described the mythical Halloumi cheese as “Halloumi is a strange and lovely cheese with its squeaky texture and high melting point, it maintains it bounce even if you grill it or sauté it to a golden crust”.