This study is the fourth in a series of AERU Research Reports presenting results of consumer surveys for various agricultural and horticultural products. In this study cheese is the product under investigation and Christchurch was the location for the survey. The objective of the present research was to present information on consumer purchasing and consumption patterns and factors affecting these patterns. The results presented are particularly timely, as the industry faces the problem of development of a marketing strategy for the 1980s which will build on the success of the 1970s.