Influencer Steffi Mercie’s cheese breaks records at Delhaize

In just 15 weeks, Delhaize has sold 100,000 units of the Belgian cheese Mercieke, created by influencer Steffi Mercie. The retailer aims to serve as a springboard for the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

Without big budgets

With 100,000 cheeses sold in just 15 weeks, Mercieke outsold a comparable product launch by more than double, Delhaize reports. The cheese quickly became a true phenomenon, even leading to temporary sell-outs at various supermarkets due to exceptionally high demand, which far exceeded expectations.

Steffi Mercie, the 23-year-old content creator with over one million followers on social media, took her community behind the scenes of her brand’s creation over the course of two years: from the search for a producer and the development of the brand identity to product testing.

The success of Mercieke demonstrates that an engaged community, an authentic entrepreneurial story, and national distribution can be enough to create a true market phenomenon—without large advertising budgets, says Delhaize. The supermarket chain points out that a large retailer can be much more than just a distribution channel: it can be a partner that helps a new generation of entrepreneurs—who want to turn an idea into a tangible product—break through.