E-commerce has become the most accepted way to sell something fast. This is because with the internet, the seller can literally reach anyone around the globe, and not localized to just a small region.
And this time, a French monastery launched an emergency online sales in order to rid of its thousands of its artisanal cheeses, that amount to 2.8 tons languishing in its cellars.
The Cîteaux Abbey that is located south of Dijon, at the heart of the Burgundy region, was founded in 1098.
Usually, the monastery that is known as the birthplace of the Cistercian Catholic order, sells raw milk, and provide semi-soft cheeses only to restaurants or visitors to its on-site shop.
But following the 'COVID-19' coronavirus pandemic, the demand dropped significantly.
And this has left the monastery's Trappist monks with a surplus of more than 4,000 cheeses.
“We tried explaining to our 75 cows that they needed to produce less milk but they don’t seem to have understood,” joked Brother Jean Claude, who is in charge of marketing at the monastery.
“Our sales are down nearly 50%.”
And with many French restaurants are still closing their doors to the public because of the health emergency, “we need to clear out our stock.”
To get rid of the cheeses fast, the monastery has partnered with the internet startup Divine Box, which sells products made by abbeys in France and elsewhere.
The minimum order is two wheels at €23 each, plus shipping.
On the Divine Box's page, the monastery features a photo of a monk in a field of cows with the label, “Operation Fromage,” or “Operation Cheese.”
They were trying to sell at least a ton of the cheese for the duration of at least a week, but by the next day the page was up, the site announced that more than the 2 tons of cheeses were sold in just 24 hours.
“Sale is over, there is no cheese left!”
Both Divine Box and the monks had to close orders after far exceeding their target.
The Abbaye de Citeaux cheese comes specifically from the Citeaux Abbey, in Burgundy, France.
The cheese came from milk that is derived from red and white Montbéliarde cows that graze on the flat meadow surrounding the abbey for at least 6 months. Made from the cows' unpasteurized milk, the Abbaye de Citeaux cheese has a pungent aroma that overpowers the flavor of the cheese.
The texture is supple and semi-soft, creamy and dense, with an ivory white color.
And as for the taste, the cheese has an earthy, creamy and milky taste.
It is said that the cheese in highly sought after, and has been produced since 1925. And in 2020, it has won the silver medal at the Lyon international competition, which is a bastion of France’s culinary heritage.
Only a few hundred of Citeaux Abbey cheeses are manufactured every Monday and Tuesday, most of which are sold at the Abbey shop.
Besides producing cheese, the monastery also produces caramels and honey-based candies.
"We are happy for ourselves, but also for the brothers. It’s a somewhat unexpected success, because we weren’t expecting it at all. We set ourselves a lot of goals, telling ourselves that maybe we would make it in our wildest dreams," said Côme Besse, the director of Divine Box.
