Artisan Cheese: It’s a Growth Industry

• Artisan cheese sales in Ontario are approximately $300 million a year
• Sales figures are expected to grow by over $100 million in the next 10 years
• Eastern Ontario is between Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, a premium location in which to start an artisan cheese dairy
• Easy logistics between urban markets
• Long history of dairy farming and cheese making
• Excellent terrior for grazing

Find Your Opportunity, Invest in your Future!

Cheese is a big business! Every year, more than 4.8 million tonnes of cheese is consumed in North America, 12-15 kg per person. In Canada, cheese production is nearly 400,000 tonnes a year; over half of this is specialty cheese. Ontario accounts for 30 per cent of the country’s total cheese production with another 60 per cent coming from Quebec. [For more information: Canadian Household Expenditures on Cheese (2001)]

Interest in artisan cheese in Ontario continues to grow among both producers and consumers. For some, it is a return to a rural lifestyle. For others, it’s an expression of values, a philosophical commitment to local food. The artisan cheese movement is based on a respect for regional environments and on the creation of products as distinctive as the farms and landscapes from which they come.

These themes resonate in and from Eastern Ontario: a diverse rural region just a short drive from major urban markets such as Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and the northeastern United States. This convenient proximity to dense urban centres allows easy access to engaged consumers.

In Eastern Ontario we have almost everything you need: milk suppliers, experienced and aspiring cheese makers, willing mentors, eager retailers and customers. Now is the time to put the pieces together, engage the people who have the passion, add some capital investment, and let the cheese making begin!