The Made in Italy dairy product has taken over the typical Normandy cheese as the best-selling in France this year, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
Mozzarella upseated camembert, the long-undisputed king of French cheese, according to sales figures from January to September 2021.
The news was initially reported by French daily Le Figaro, and has since made headlines in Italy.
Le Figaro cited data from the Syndicat Normand des Fabricants de Camemberts (SNFC), which revealed that from the start of this year until September 11, there were 29,230 tonnes of Camembert sold in France compared to 33,170 tonnes of mozzarella.
The French newspaper stated that camembert is usually eaten in restaurants or as part of more traditional home-cooked meals, while mozzarella used at home in simpler and “trendier” dishes.
Mozzarella is the most exported Italian cheese in the world, with more than 107,000 tonnes of exports in 2020, according to data from Italian dairy industry association Assolatte.
One in three mozzarelle that is exported ends up on a table in France, according to ANSA.
