A sigh of relief for fans of cottage and white cheese: Over the past two days, retail chains report that white cheese and cottage cheese can once again be found even in the evening hours. Until recently, the products were snatched straight from stockers' crates, sometimes before even reaching the refrigerators. After nearly two months of shortages, the crisis appears to be coming to an end.
Over the past two weeks, Tnuva returned to supplying retail chains with normal quantities. Market sources told Walla that rebuilding inventory and filling the vacuum created during the shortage took time. The change on the ground has been felt only in recent days, with goods remaining on shelves throughout the day and still available in the evening.
The ordeal began with cottage cheese, which vanished from shelves even before Shavuot. For long weeks, retail chains struggled to receive the quantities they ordered from Tnuva, and in some branches, it disappeared shortly after arrival. As the shortage persisted, consumers turned to white cheese, causing demand for it to surge rapidly. Within a short time, a shortage of white cheese developed as well, and the shelves usually filled with tubs of cottage and white cheese were stocked instead with labneh, sour cream, and other dairy products.
A technical failure behind the shortage
The root of the crisis lay in a malfunction in the automated warehouse system at Tnuva’s Alon Tavor dairy. As revealed by Walla, the issue was not on the production line. The cottage cheese was produced, packaged, and ready for distribution, but some of it could not leave the dairy and reach distribution trucks due to disruptions in the system managing pallet movement in the warehouse.
The system is operated by the German company Dematic. A visit by the team scheduled to arrive at Tnuva during Operation Roaring Lion was canceled due to the war. The company's staff attempted to assist Tnuva teams remotely via phone and Zoom calls, while Tnuva employees operated part of the system manually. The solution allowed goods to be dispatched, though not at the usual supply pace.
Compounding the logistical problem was a roughly 4% increase in demand for dairy products since the beginning of the year, driven in part by a drop in the number of Israelis traveling abroad due to the security situation. High demand and gaps created since Shavuot made restocking difficult, and any additional delay was felt immediately in retail stores.
The disruption in cottage cheese supply eventually spilled over to white cheese. Consumers unable to find cottage cheese switched to white cheese, and the growing demand began clearing those shelves as well. The shortage was especially noticeable due to the market structure: Tnuva is Israel's largest producer in the white cheese category, while Strauss holds about 30% of the market.
Now, after two weeks of supply at normal levels, the gaps finally appear to be closed.