For a long time, Danish salad cheese from Arla has been the market leader in this category in Norway. But now, it seems that Norwegians have cracked the code with their own production.

Tine’s salad cheese, launched last spring, has taken on competitors, including Danish salad cheese from Arla. The cheese has performed better in the market than the company had anticipated. As a result, imports have shifted from explosive growth to a significant decline, reports the newspaper Nationen.

For many years, Arla has dominated the Norwegian market for this type of cheese. During the pandemic, imports exceeded 3,000 tons for the first time, with 90 percent coming from Denmark. Less than ten percent came from Greece, the birthplace of original feta cheese.

There has long been a demand for a challenger to Arla’s market dominance, and several smaller Norwegian dairies have made attempts. Last year, Norway’s large dairy cooperative, Tine, took up the challenge—with a success that is now reflected in import figures.

In 2024, salad cheese imports fell to their lowest level in five years, dropping below 2,800 tons—a 3.7 percent decrease from the previous year.

Tine dairy manager at the Selbu plant, Heidi Kristin Mathisen, is delighted with the success story. The Norwegian salad cheese is produced at her dairy.
– It has doubled compared to what we were initially promised. It has been incredibly exciting, she told Nationen.

The success has also created four new full-time jobs, with last year’s production reaching 273 tons. In just the first three months of this year, an additional 100 tons have already been produced, the dairy manager added.

Read the full article in Nationen HERE

Photo: Tine