GREEN BAY, Wis. — For deli buyers searching for just the right size of cheese to sell at the counter and to put on deli sandwiches, Cady Creek Farms is happy to offer its solution: its 4-inch diameter deli horns in a wide spectrum of varieties as well as an array of other deli cheese products. The 4-inch diameter cheese is just right for deli employees to handle and fits perfectly on sandwiches and burgers, says John Landmeyer, a co-owner of Cady Creek Farms.

Not only is the cheese easier to handle in the smaller form but the company also believes the cheese has better consistency and flavor when it is made in a smaller size. And company officials believe they have some of the best flavor in the country.

Nancy Rand, director of deli sales, says that before she joined Cady Creek Farms, she had had the opportunity to try Cady cheese as a buyer for another company. She was so impressed that she told Landmeyer: “I’d like to come and work with you — I know I can sell the product.”

Rand says her job of marketing Cady cheese across the country is something she enjoys every day.

“I’ve sold other things I was shaky on,” Rand says. “With Cady, I can go into any office in the country and sell it. I don’t have a problem. That’s an awesome feeling.”

Cheese produced under the Cady Creek Farms label is produced at Cady Cheese Factory, which is owned by Dale and Wendy Marcott. The cheese then is marketed by Cady Creek Farms, a partnership between the Marcotts, Pete DeMars and Landmeyer.

About half of the cheese sold by Cady Creek Farms is manufactured at Cady Cheese Factory in Cady, Wis., where all American-type varieties of cheese are produced, including Cheddar, Colby and Jack as well as a number of flavored varieties such as horseradish and salami. The cheeses are produced and sold under customer’s private label, the company’s own Cady Creek Farms brand and through its factory cheese and gift shop. In addition to 4-inch diameter horns, the company provides cheese in 5-pound loaves, 6-inch horns, smaller cut and wrapped sizes and shingle-pack slices.

For the other half of the cheese it sells, Cady Creek has strong partnerships with other quality cheese manufacturers so that all told it can supply about 80 items in a variety of flavors, says DeMars.

• Long and stable history

Landmeyer says the cheese’s quality comes from a combination of history and knowledge of cheesemaking as well as state-of-the-art equipment and attention to detail. Back in the days when small cheese factories dotted the countryside, Cady Cheese Factory began as a cooperative in 1908 to handle the processing of milk from area farms. Cady Cheese Factory then was purchased by Norman and Delores Marcott in 1960 and produced barrel cheese for further processing. Norm and Delores’ son Dale, prior to entering college, worked in every aspect of the factory, literally learning the cheesemaking business from the bottom up, including emptying milk from farmers’ milk cans into the cream separator. Then, in 1978, Dale and his wife Wendy purchased the factory from his parents and installed equipment for the production of longhorn cheese. Dale’s education in biology and chemistry has enabled Cady Cheese Factory to continually refine the cheesemaking and longhorn pressing process, Landmeyer says.

There aren’t a lot of cheese plants anymore in Wisconsin that have been in continuous production for nearly 100 years, and the same is true for Cady Cheese. While the company is the same, a disastrous fire destroyed the factory in 1991. However, the Marcotts didn’t let the fire destroy their business and instead used the opportunity to rebuild a state-of-the-art plant — much of it designed by Dale Marcott himself, whom Landmeyer calls the “Thomas Edison” of longhorn cheesemaking. The plant can process up to 700,000 pounds of milk daily.

As a modern cheese plant, the company has the ability to produce consistently high-quality products with process controls that preserve the art of successful cheesemaking recipes, according to company officials. The company also is very aware of today’s demands for product tracking and keeps production details for its cheeses for six months.

“We can track cheese back down to the hour it was made,” Rand says.

• Moving into the future

Today, the marketing staff focuses on spreading the word about the history and quality behind the Cady Creek label. In keeping with the continuing demand from consumers for convenience, Rand says the fastest-growing segment for the company is shingles. Rand says she sees an increasing demand for natural cheese as opposed to process, and the convenience of 4-inch deli horn slices fits what customers are seeking. Among the convenience items the company offers are a ready-to-go party cheese tray and an assortment pack cube case. Rand also notes that customers frequently comment on the sliceablity of Cady Cheese and the fact it doesn’t crumble much on the deli slicer, saving customers both time and money.

“We’re known for our quality, consistency and sliceability,” she says.

The company also has marketing data that confirm consumers respond well to longhorn cheese. One focus group in Madison, Wis., conducted by industry consultant Andrea Neu found that consumers perceive round cheeses as being of higher quality as opposed to square cheeses.

Landmeyer says that in addition to the high-quality product the company supplies, the staff strives to be very customer-oriented.

“John has literally flown me into locations to show customers how to handle the cheese in the deli,” Rand adds.

In addition, because of the company’s size — big enough to supply large accounts but small enough to be flexible — Cady Creek Farms can fulfill a wide range of customer needs. The company is more hands-on than some of its larger counterparts in the deli cheese business, DeMars says.

“We’re leaner and meaner,” he adds. “We can change quickly due to market conditions.”

The company is on schedule with its business plan, Landmeyer says. This past year, the company sold 13 million pounds of product to delis as well as serviced customers with products for the dairy case, foodservice and industrial uses.

Looking ahead, DeMars says he foresees the company to keep growing. With product already in about 30 states and as one of the largest deli horn manufacturers in the country, there is opportunity and ability to be the premier deli cheese manufacturer and marketer in the country, DeMars says.

“Our focus is cheese, and that’s what we’re good at,” he says.

CMN