ONE EPIC YEAR OF CHEESE!
2022 was indeed a return to event normal and sheesh, did our audience turn out in droves to help celebrate and champion the best darn cheese makers in Australia.
It was a massive year indeed as we not only smashed previous event records, but also headed to Hobart for the very first time.
So before we begin, we're sending you all a massive THANK YOU for being with us.
Throughout the year we gained an incredible amount of insights, learnings, facts and stats from our year of cheese which we've compiled in our POST END OF EVENT REPORT for the year.
There is a lot here so relax, get comfortable, grab a glass of wine (and some cheese!) and let's get into it!
But to put it mildly ... 👇🏻
MOULD - A CHEESE FESTIVAL is now an 9,600 person audit on the current state of play of of Australian cheese on the east coast of the country.
BRISBANE
July 1 - 3
We packed out the John Reid Pavilion this year and our Brisbane fans came to play!
This was our biggest REVEL event in Brisbane ever with over 2100 people joining us throughout the four sessions
Brisbane folk come to BUY and it again had the highest percentage spend on cheese (per person) of any city; fans of Australian cheese they are indeed.
As the makers who were there can attest, they could have sold more than they had on hand which tells us there is even more room to grown in this market. We just need more cheese to manage the demand!
2185+
Peoples joined us
$100
avg spend per person
50% of that on cheese!
$6,400
average sales per cheese vendor
75
cheese on tasting
MELBOURNE
July 22 - 24
Sweet baby cheeses this was the biggest MOULD - A Cheese Festival EVER!
Yep, our home town came out to pay their respects to cheese with sale up a whopping 35% compared to last year.
Add to that the spend per person was $109, the biggest we've seen in the city which we believe speaks to the diversity of offerings on hand.
We don't mind saying, the Sunday session was one of the best sessions we've ever had the privilege of running.
Oh, and we got some massive TV coverage on the day as well. In short, well played all. This was a big one!
3110+
attendees joined us!
$109
average spend PP with 50% of that on cheese.
Highest spend of all the cities!
$7,200
average sales per cheese vendor
58％
cheese sales up on 2021 event
SYDNEY
August 12 - 13
Holy smokes! With over 2800 punters joined us over 2 day this was not just the biggest MOULD event in Sydney ut the biggest REVEL event in city ever (yep, smashing even our sister event Pinot Palooza!). So yes, Sydney folk came out in droves and if anything, we may need to look at capping the numbers next year to help moderate the enthusiasm (or add an additional sunday session).
The good news is the audience there was keen to get a greater understanding of the minutia of cheese making which is a very, very good thing.
2795+
Attendees joined us!
$105
avg spend per person
$5,700
average sales per cheese vendor
42.5％
sale were up on 2021
HOBART
October 21 - 23
For our first foray to Tasmania, we not only brought MOULD but brought our sister event, Pinot Palooza for the ultimate double header. This concept behind this hybrid event concept is to enable us to service smaller capital cities where as it may be difficult to attract the full producer compliment of a single, larger event.
The result?
A great start and whilst we didn't quite get the total numbers we were hoping for, what gives us the confidence to grow this sub brand into other cities. We had incredible press coverage and with a grass roots push, we ended up seeing a very high spend per person, it would have been higher that Melbourne if we'd had food vendors. What was also encouraging, and quite interesting TBH, was that cheese accounted for a larger percentage of sales than wine so, in short, we just need more people as the demand is certainly there.
Being a new city for Revel we hope to continue to grow the audience here and most likely make Hobart a bi-annual event.
Next up, PERTH!
1505+
attendees joined us!
$105
avg spend per person
(but more like $115 when we take food sales into account)
$4,775
avg sales per vendor
42％
on of the pp spend was on cheese
There is no denying the MOULD audience is an engaged one who is dead set keen to meet and greet the makers, growers, farmers and families that just happen to make the best darn cheese in the country.
Even better is that its as diverse as the cheeses on tasting are however, there are some fascinating insights we can share.
What is super exciting is seeing younger audiences, in particular women, be so enthusiastic about great Australian cheese.
Not only that, they are coming to buy and buy big. They're technically savy, seek and engaged.
Since inception in 2017, this trend has been very consistent and whilst it's trending slightly older, our audience is now bringing along their kids. yep, starting them young indeed.
59％
Under the age of 35
77％
under the age of 45
65％
women
80％
engaged with us online via mobile
Yep, we’re CURD NERDS so get strapped in as we're about share with you all the insights and understandings we gained from this years event. Whether it be how much cheese is sold, and what kind, or the milk type or more, we just want to know.
Every year we get to know more and more about our audiences in each city, the trends and the nuances so we share this with you to better help prepare you for future events.
The more we know, the better we can prepare you on event day. One thing is for sure, and no matter what people say, our audience LOVES Australian cheese are damn happy to pay for it.
as we said at the beginning, MOULD A CHEESE FESTIVAL is now a 9,600 person audit on the current state of play of Australian cheese on the east coast of the country. The sales data alone offer insights into style preference, milk popularity and, perhaps most importantly, highlight the demand so good Aussie Cheese.
9,600
joined us on event days
Up 60% on 2021!
$105.50
average spend per person
6.3 TONNES
of cheese sold and consumed on event days!
26
different cheese brands joined us
195 🧀
different cheese on tasting
$6,400
average sales per vendor per city
$48
per person spent on cheese
0.75kg
avg weight of cheese purchases per person
4 units
cheese purchases per person
65％
increases in overall cheese sales from 2021!
WANT EVEN MORE STATS?
If you'd like to get into the nitty gritty and deep dive into the results per city, follow the link below!
CURD NERD ALERT!
ABC NEWS Segment from Melbourne syndicated on the east coast
SYDNEY Segment
Spreading the cheesey word was critical to the event's success and thanks to our agency, Common State, they delivered in spades. Frankly, we've never seen anything like it in all our years in doing events.
With over 103 pieces of media across print, online and broadcast outlets across Australia, we even got an extraordinary total of 7 television pieces were secured across all touring cities; a first for the event.
This goes a heck of a long 'whey' (ahem) in engaging and informing a broader audience and bringing even more people into our collective.
Thanks to the exceptional TV coverage we received in Melbourne, helped drive final ticket sales which resulted in the record number cheese sales on the day.
Whilst these traditional media outlets played an important role, the impact of digital publications was critical in engaging our primary, under 35 audience. Outlets like Broadsheet, Concrete Playground and Urban List were of significant influence.
16,706,166
Cumulative PR reach
103
unique pieces of media
7
national news TV spots
13
radio pieces across all cities
23
unique online media articles
Always coveted. Always fascinating. Always hotly contested.
For this years People's Choice, thanks to the insights we're able to receive via the event, we have 2 ways of looking at it.
It was from either voting through our Mould Cheese Festival App, and then of course, sales on the day.
We went full digital asking people to vote for their favourite producer and cheese through our Mould Cheese Festival App via QR on the festival map handed out at entry. This new addition allowed customers to favourite their best producers, add tasting notes or 'like' a cheese and then email themselves their ultimate cheese list to themselves directly.
The good news is over 35% of attendees used the app which is 20% more insights than we've been able to gather at previous events.
But of course, there could only be one and it was …
NATIONAL WINNER!
MILAWA
This year MILAWA took the top spot of People’s Choice for Producer and their AGED MILAWA BLUE took top spot for people’s choice for favourite cheese plus it was the highest selling cheese across the event
TOP 5 PRODUCERS
1. Milawa
2. Bruny Island
3. Grandvewe
4. Section 28
5. Coal River Farm
TOP 10 CHEESES
1. Aged Milawa Blue Milawa
2. Gin Herbalist Grandvewe
3. Sapphire Blue Grandvewe
4. C2 Bruny Island
5. Chilli Persian Feta Red Cow Organics
6. Traditional Cloth Matured Cheddar Pyengana
7. Silver Wattle Long Paddock
8. Banksia Long Paddock
9. Marc Bruny Island
10. Marinated Feta Coal River Farm
2023 is shaping up to be an even bigger year as we not only return to our favourite cities, but look to 'GO WEST' and head to Perth bringing along our sister event, Pinot Palooza.
We've also done our best to not only spread the East Coast Tour out a little more (you know, so you can make cheese!) but also looked to avoid conflicts with other keys festivals such as the Good Food & Wine Show, GABS and Dark Mofo.
We kick off the tour in Brisbane in early May. This city is always the best one to start as Queenslanders are always so damned excited to have us! We then head to Melbourne and followed by Sydney.
Please note, for Sydney we are looking to add on a Sunday session and will confirm this ASAP (cost dependent)
MOULD X Pinot Palooza
MOULD x Pinot Palooza is hybrid event concept which allows us to visit other, smaller capital cities. By combining both brands, this event model allows us to not only increase attendance capacity without having to compromise the overall integrity and event experience for both producer and guest alike. It also means greater sales for each individual brand.
We trialed this format in Hobart late October 2022 and the results have given us the confidence to expand this to Perth in August 2023. Perth is a highly valuable, under serviced city and we strongly encourage you to join us.
These hybrid events are likely to be bi-annual affairs opposed to the east coast ‘annual’ tour.
NoteL We'll likely return to HOBART every second year (2024)
Delivering the very best of Australian Cheese!
Thats out mission at the Mould Cheese Collective.
Whilst born out of Covid, for the past two years we have continued to connect our unique cheese loving audience with the incredible cheeses you create.
Thanks to our brand new website, we look forward to continuing to grow this part of the MOULD Cheese Collective.
We look forward to exciting colabs, regional focuses, championing more cheese makers and celebrating the makers, growers, farmers and families that just happen to make, the best cheese in the country.
Here is a little insight into what 2022 at the MOULD CHEESE COLLECTIVE looked liked
2 tonnes
of cheese sold
3000+
happy customers
38
Australian cheesemakers showcased
MARCH BOX 023
Women in Dairy
AUGUST BOX 028
The Awards Box
OCTOBER BOX 030
RAW Month
To everyone who joined us in 2022, joined us in previous years, celebrated, championed and or cheered from the side lines, we say a massive THANK YOU!
If you're keen to join us for the 2023 TOUR, or would like to know more about anything, simply register your interest via the link below and or simply email us at hello@mouldcheesefestival.com and we'll get right back to you.
Until then, cheers!