Cheese’s main usage occasion varies from a country to another. In France, cheese is primarily eaten on a cheese board at the end of a meal (by 71% of consumers). In Germany, pizza is the leading occasion (for 68% of consumers), whilst in Italy, it is pasta (72%). In Brazil, cheese is often eaten at the breakfast time in bakery goods bought through the foodservice channel. In 2013, cheese manufacturers have continued to leverage the versatility of cheese as a platform of innovation. As mentioned previously, the leading marketing claim amongst new cheese products launched in 2013 was related to the convenience of their packaging. Convenience, as a category claim including convenient packaging, ease of use, microwaveable, on-the-go and portionability, grew by 5 percentage points between 2009 and 2013, to reach 17% of the newly launched cheese products. The cheese category has embraced snackable formats as brands adapt to a global culture that is increasingly demanding small, convenient options. Positively, consumers’ demand for such products is high. In the US, 85% of shoppers agree that cheese makes for a great snack. Snacking, as an occasion to eat cheese, is well established in Europe where over half the German and Italian consumers and a third of French consumers use cheese as a snack. Innovation towards on-the-go formats has increased by 54% over the last two years globally, though it continues to remain a niche area of total product development. Although consumers spend a lot of time commuting, opening opportunities in terms of snacking occasions, they do not eat cheese in their travel. (source: Mintel Global Market Research)