A few months ago we took the initiative to get in touch with Culture Cheese Magazine, America’s first cheese-devoted magazine, to help spread the word about Invest In Cheese.
A unique initiative to Eastern, Ontario Invest In Cheese was launched last year to take advantage of the high groth opportunitiy in small scale and artisan cheese. This industry is currently a $300 million category in Ontario. Over the next decade, this number is expected to grow to $400 million.
The current market share of the Ontario artisan cheese industry is approximately $5 million and over the next 10 years there is an opportunity to increase the production and distribution of artisan cheese to capture a larger share of the market.
For more than a century, Eastern Ontario has been known for its cheese and combining the already existing cheese facilities in the Four-County Region, along with the knowledge of this growth opportunity, makes the region an area full of passionate and successful cheesemakers with room for many more.
One of the first steps the four Counties took together was to develop a website that focused on artisan cheese to help investors establish themselves here. Thus Invest In Cheese was born.
Last week I was like a kid on candy when the magazine arrived with our information in it. It was an exciting step in our direction forward. Here is the article snippit.
In other news, as you will have noticed, our website has had a bit of a makeover recently. Please take a little tour around and let us know what you think, we weclome your comments.
Canada’s oldest cheese factory now has the cash it needs to set up a facility designed to help them pump out more eco-friendly products. Leona Dombrowsky, MPP for Prince Edward-Hastings, was treated to thunderous applause from Ivanhoe Cheese employees, after she announced the McGuinty government will award $377,000 in provincial funding to the Madoc cheese-maker.
Across Ontario’s Artisan Cheese Region, one can find an impressive history of cheese making. In this post, our focus is on Hastings County.
Once trademarked in the late 1990s as the “Cheese Capital of Canada”, more than 80 cheese factory locations have been identified in Hastings County. Today, there are three cheese factories operating (Eldorado – Canada’s only 100% Kosher cheese making factory, Ivanhoe and Maple Dale), plus the Black Diamond Cheese Factory. And, we are fortunate to be home to the Ontario Water Buffalo Company with a herd that’s grown to more than 100, and 30 of which are being milked to supply a Buffalo Mozzarella cheese making operation.
Despite cheesemaking in western Ontario going into decline in the early 1900s, the cheesemaking industry persisted in eastern Ontario and almost by default our area today known as Ontario’s Artisan Cheese Region became the cheese capital of Ontario by the 1930s. The Ontario Cheese Producers Market Board was established in 1935 and headquartered in Belleville.
One of the largest cheese-related events, and still going strong today, is the annual British Empire Cheese Show. 2009 saw the 82nd Annual edition of this event held in Hastings County. This event includes awards for cheese making including butter, and the Grand Champion in 2009 was our Stirling Creamery – maker of the famous butter balls.
It’s been said that remembering our history is like creating a blueprint for the future. Our impressive history of cheese making has certainly provided a solid footing for today’s Artisan Cheese Region.
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