Adelaide Hills artisan cheesemaker Section28 will close in September

Fine diners are skipping cheese plates due to the cost-of-living crisis, contributing to the closure of this top Adelaide Hills cheesemaker.

Kym Masters from Section28 cheese in Woodside. Photo: Naomi Jellicoe.

Rising costs and significantly reduced sales due to cost-of-living pressures have led to the closure of an acclaimed Adelaide Hills cheesemaker.

Kym Masters, owner of Woodside’s Section28 Artisan Cheeses, said they have stopped production of their award-winning alpine-style cheeses, and will wind up the business in September.

Mr Masters said it was a tough decision but one that had to be made.

“It’s always difficult – we put our heart and soul into it,” he said.

“I’ve given ten years of my life to building and operating this business. I was grateful every year we were in operation.

“I never took for granted that anyone would want to buy our products.”

A former investment banker, Mr Masters quit his job to launch Section28, alongside wife Joanne, about ten years ago.

His passion for cheese began when he lived with his family in Italy for 12 months, inspiring the business, which made hard and semi-hard, alpine-style cheeses.

Kym and Joanne Masters from Section28 Artisan Cheeses. Picture: Kelly Barnes

The products are available in top restaurants around the country, and in specialty food stores.

Mr Masters said growing business costs had hurt, plus a “significant” drop-off in sales in high-end, dining venues interstate.

About 85 per cent of their sales were on the eastern seaboard, Mr Masters said, where the cost-of-living crisis has hit diners who have cut back on their spending – particularly at the end of dinner.

“Our target market was white tablecloth restaurants and people aren’t buying cheese plates at the end of meals,” said Mr Masters, who added that sales in SA remained strong.

“I was chatting to one chef who was saying that in the past, everyone would buy an entree, everyone would buy a main and 50 per cent would buy a dessert, and the other 50 per cent would buy a cheese plate.

“What they’re finding now is everyone is buying an entree, sharing a main and then no one is buying dessert or cheese. That is having a big impact on the artisan cheese sector and cheese consumption in general.”

Kym Masters at work as a cheesemaker. Picture: Roger Wyman

Mr Masters said he was left with few options, none of which were palatable.

“Our options were to compromise quality, cease to continue to invest in our team or increase our prices to a point where it wasn’t accessible to everyone,” he said.

“None of those options were in line with our values.”

Over the past decade, they’ve won several awards for their products, including a top prize at the 2023 delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards for their Monforte Grande Reserve cheese.

Mr Masters said he was “humbled” by the response to the announcement of their closure, and he was now focused on supporting his team of eight staff.

“It’s about making sure we exit gracefully and looking after the team,” he said.

“We’re hoping that people can still support us for the next six months and we wanted to give notice that we’re still here, but this is the plan, so that chefs aren’t caught short.”

Originally published as Adelaide Hills artisan cheesemaker Section28 will close in September