Australia’s only local artisan cheese delivery service has found a loyal client base delivering purely Aussie cheeses to urban doorsteps.
Once purely a luxury found only in the confines of the kitchens of regional artisan cheesemakers, Aussie start-up Cheese Riot is bringing truly local cheeses to enthusiasts across the nation by bridging the gap between producer and consumer.
Founded just over a year ago, Cheese Riot has met huge success offering Australia’s finest collection of local, unique cheeses, wines and accompaniments to customer’s doorsteps.
In mid-2017, Cheese Riot director and founder Anna Perjema noticed a shortage in the availability of local, Australian-only cheeses in big cities after curating the & Cheese festival.
It was this gap in the market that inspired her to create a cheese delivery service focused purely on making delicious, bespoke cheeses available to everyone, no matter their location.
Cheese Riot is all about the farm-to-table philosophy and ensuring that consumers know exactly where the product is from and who made it, Ms Perejma says.
“Cheese Riot is the only cheese retailer that focuses on Australian products and does not have anything from overseas. While there are a lot of delicious cheese from overseas, cheeses in our own backyard need a champion and some more recognition that they are great and delicious and we have the skills here to make amazing cheese,” she said.
The company delivers their platters and hampers nationwide, but their biggest client-base is in urban capital cities, as well as rural towns.
“There’s a niche. People love these cheeses but don’t know some of them are out there. We aim to bridge that gap and source cheeses directly from makers and send out to cheese lovers everywhere.”
More than a year on from launching, the response to Cheese Riot has been extremely positive, Ms Perejma said.
“It’s been overwhelmingly positive. A lot of people are really excited there’s a platform for solely Australian cheeses sourced from local producers you can’t necessarily get from shops.”
While e-commerce has been the backbone of the start-up, Ms Perejma says she is looking into opportunities to potentially open up a brick-and-mortar store to enable people to experience the cheeses physically before purchase.
“I’m thinking about toying with a brick-and-mortar store to compliment the online platform because cheese is the kind of product where people want to smell and see.”
With one of the businesses’ most popular offerings its monthly cheese platter delivery service, Ms Perejma says trust is a key part of the business given customers can’t taste the cheeses before purchasing them.
“Trust is the key word for customers. We’re a year on and we have still got a whole bunch of customers who have been with me for more than a year. They do trust my selection,” she said.
“The recurring subscription model is key for any e-commerce business to develop a sole revenue base.”