The specialty cheese sector is sizzling.

Sales of gourmet and artisanal products in traditional supermarkets with at least $2 million in total store volume reached $2.36 billion for the first three quarters of 2009, up about 2 percent from the year-earlier period.

Helping to spur demand—and the subsequent merchandising of added products—are immigrants seeking familiar flavors and greater overall consumer interest in bolder tastes.

The Great A&P Tea Co., which operates 435 stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, is responding by marketing about 300 types of specialty cheeses in its Fresh format stores that generate approximately 27 percent of the deli’s business.

Giant Eagle Inc., a Pittsburgh-based chain of 220 stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland, operates full-service cheese counters in 34 outlets that merchandise about 400 items. The remaining locations carry about 150 selections.

The Giant Eagle counters are operated by certified “Cheesemongers,” or employees who have undergone 16 hours of cheese training. The individuals wear berets with a “Cheesemonger” logo.

Top-selling specialty cheeses nationwide include Queso Fresco, Feta, Havarti, Brie, Blue and Gouda. Among the fastest-growing items are Queso De Papa, Queso De Freir, Requeson, Mascarpone, Oaxaca, Limburger, Quark, Asiago and Gruyere.

To further expand category revenues, however, it is crucial that merchandisers frequently offer samples to shoppers, and ensure employees can accurately answer customers’ questions, analysts say.

Indeed, many shoppers are reluctant to spend $20 or more per pound for an artisan cheese if they are unsure how it will taste, notes Marcia Schurer, president of Culinary Connections, a Chicago-based food industry marketing and consulting firm.

“Staffers should tell shoppers where the cheese came from; recommend the foods it can go with; and state why it is different from other varieties,” she says. “Employees must do more than just read information off the label, which customers can do themselves.”

Cheese merchandising, meanwhile, is becoming increasingly complex as retailers must sort through a wider range of options in determining the optimal selections to market.

Schurer recommends that operators consult with vendors, track industry-wide sales data, and note the products that sell strongly in competitors’ locations.

In addition, Voni Woods, Giant Eagle senior director of deli, says it is crucial to carry items that are featured on the Food Network.

“Shoppers want an item right after its been mentioned on television,” she states. “Retailers must know what is trendy as there are so many cheeses in the world and only so much shelf space.”

Another growing segment, health-conscious shoppers, also is adding to the demand for specialty cheeses, notes Marilyn Wilkinson, director of national product communications for the Madison, Wis.-based Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

Many specialty items, she says, are minimally processed and developed by local producers—creating the perception of freshness.

Specialty cheese production in Wisconsin rose 7 percent to 429 million pounds from 2007 to 2008, accounting for 17 percent of the state’s total cheese production, according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agriculture Statistics Service.

The Delavan, Wis.-based Wisconsin Specialty Cheese Institute defines “specialty” cheese as being high quality, value added and available in limited quantities (typically less than 40 million pounds produced annually).

To add further interest to the category, Wilkinson advises merchandisers to attach recipes to cheese labels and cross-merchandise items in stores. Displays, for instance, could include cheese, crackers and wine.

It also is important to market the higher-priced cheeses in smaller packages, she says.

“Even in hard economic times, people will buy luxury items like gourmet cheese,” Wilkinson notes. “But the shoppers first want to try a little to be sure they will like the taste.”