MONROE - The world of cheese is getting bigger for Klondike Cheese Company on Wisconsin 81, west of Monroe.
Not only did the cheesemakers bring home four best-of-class awards for feta, peppercorn feta, dill Havarti and Muenster last week from the 2012 World Championship Cheese Contest, the family-run company is set to finish a major storage expansion in the next month.
The demand for cheeses, in general, has been expanding, said Ron Buholzer, one of the family's third generation of cheesemakers.
"Specialty cheeses have a very nice growth pattern, especially in Wisconsin," he added.
Part of that growth comes from the public's increasing awareness of the "flavorfulness of cheese," Buholzer said, and sets up a great opportunity for expansion beyond the family-staples of cheddar and mozzarella.
The demand for feta, with its tangy flavor and easily crumbling texture, has pushed Klondike's production up in the recent years.
From its first feta recipe developed in 1988, Klondike now produces about 20 million pounds of the brined white cheese made wholly of cow's milk, compared to its production of about 7.5 million of brick, Muenster and Havarti, combined. Feta made up about 75 percent of the company's total production of 25 million pounds just four years ago.
The need for more dry storage space, for packaging and labeling supplies, is an indication that retail sales are up for Klondike, which produces cheeses, mostly feta, for 50 to 60 private labels. And while about 80 percent of its feta market is in food service, Klondike is moving more of its own brand of feta, Odyssey Feta Cheese, onto retail shelves.
The company is adding 10,000 square feet to both cold and dry storage, doubling the spaces from their sizes in mid-2000s. Klondike is also adding a fourth feta crumbling line - the first was added in 2002; the second and third, in 2005.
More cheese lines mean more employment, and Buholzer said the company is looking to add more people to the payroll.
The multiple awards at World Championship Cheese competition are a "great feather" in the company's hat, reaffirming the company's image for making high quality cheeses, Buholzer added.
"It's used for marketing; it's a potential for more buyers; but best of all, it helps you when you're getting price pressure from competition," he said, smiling.
But good milk is key to making world-class cheese, Buholzer pointed out. The company pulls in about 800,000 pounds of milk per day from local dairies.
"None of this is possible if not for all the great milk we get from our (dairy farmer) patrons," he said.
Not only did the cheesemakers bring home four best-of-class awards for feta, peppercorn feta, dill Havarti and Muenster last week from the 2012 World Championship Cheese Contest, the family-run company is set to finish a major storage expansion in the next month.
The demand for cheeses, in general, has been expanding, said Ron Buholzer, one of the family's third generation of cheesemakers.
"Specialty cheeses have a very nice growth pattern, especially in Wisconsin," he added.
Part of that growth comes from the public's increasing awareness of the "flavorfulness of cheese," Buholzer said, and sets up a great opportunity for expansion beyond the family-staples of cheddar and mozzarella.
The demand for feta, with its tangy flavor and easily crumbling texture, has pushed Klondike's production up in the recent years.
From its first feta recipe developed in 1988, Klondike now produces about 20 million pounds of the brined white cheese made wholly of cow's milk, compared to its production of about 7.5 million of brick, Muenster and Havarti, combined. Feta made up about 75 percent of the company's total production of 25 million pounds just four years ago.
The need for more dry storage space, for packaging and labeling supplies, is an indication that retail sales are up for Klondike, which produces cheeses, mostly feta, for 50 to 60 private labels. And while about 80 percent of its feta market is in food service, Klondike is moving more of its own brand of feta, Odyssey Feta Cheese, onto retail shelves.
The company is adding 10,000 square feet to both cold and dry storage, doubling the spaces from their sizes in mid-2000s. Klondike is also adding a fourth feta crumbling line - the first was added in 2002; the second and third, in 2005.
More cheese lines mean more employment, and Buholzer said the company is looking to add more people to the payroll.
The multiple awards at World Championship Cheese competition are a "great feather" in the company's hat, reaffirming the company's image for making high quality cheeses, Buholzer added.
"It's used for marketing; it's a potential for more buyers; but best of all, it helps you when you're getting price pressure from competition," he said, smiling.
But good milk is key to making world-class cheese, Buholzer pointed out. The company pulls in about 800,000 pounds of milk per day from local dairies.
"None of this is possible if not for all the great milk we get from our (dairy farmer) patrons," he said.