DAVENPORT, Iowa — Earlier this month, Swiss Valley Farms Cooperative celebrated a milestone: its 50th anniversary.

“In any industry, that’s a big achievement. We’re really proud of that,” says marketing manager Ron Schroder, who notes the co-op’s longevity is one validation of Swiss Valley’s focus on top quality and meeting customer needs.

“Swiss Valley has a long tradition of producing quality, value-added products with a high-quality milk supply to begin the process and talented and dedicated employees,” adds Greg Rexwinkel, vice president, finance and operations.

Swiss Valley dates its roots back to the summer of 1958 when two Midwest dairy cooperatives, Iowa Illinois and Quality Milk, began the process of merging together to form a brand new cooperative: Mississippi Valley Milk Producers Association (MVMPA). The new co-op set up its headquarters in Davenport, Iowa, where Swiss Valley still is located to this day. The Swiss Valley Farms brand name was first adopted for use on packaging in 1977, and the cooperative officially changed its name from MVMPA to Swiss Valley Farms in 1981.

Today, Swiss Valley boasts more than 1,000 members in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota, and operates a number of dairy plants in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The co-op, known for its Swiss and Blue cheese nationally and a variety of fluid and cultured products in the Midwest, marked its golden anniversary with a day-long event in Dubuque, Iowa, March 4, with a number of festivities including a tour of its bottling plant, a buffet luncheon with music, presentations by current and past executives and a keynote address by Olympic Gold Medalist Rulon Gardner. This year, the co-op also has 50th anniversary logos emblazoned on some of its semi trailers and milk tankers.

• Further developing its cheese markets

The 50th anniversary marks both a time to look back as well as a time to look ahead. Schroder says the co-op has a great deal to look forward to.

One of the areas the company will be expanding is its production and marketing of its Mindoro Blue brand produced in Mindoro, Wis.

“The Mindoro brand is well-positioned to capture the evolution in the market toward bolder flavors,” says Chris Hoeger, director of sales and marketing. “Baby Boomers in particular are demanding higher quality products with more distinctive flavors.”

Swiss Valley produces both Blue and Gorgonzola, a creamier and milder version of Blue. Plans are in the works to expand production capacity of both later this year.

“With the weak dollar, cheese exports continue to provide opportunities,” Hoeger adds.

About 60 percent of Swiss Valley’s cheese sales go to ingredients. About 10 percent of the cheese is sold for foodservice and 30 percent is sold at retail.

But retail and foodservice are an important area of growth for the cooperative, says Schroder, who notes that the co-op provides high quality cheeses for customers who are focused on quality. The piles of awards Swiss Valley has raked in over the years — including cheesemaker Jim Klein being named the 2007 Wisconsin Grand Master Cheese Maker at the Wisconsin State Fair for his Swiss cheese — attest to that. The cooperative is less focused on making commodity cheeses and is increasingly focused on high-quality specialty cheeses and cashing in on the reputation Wisconsin has for high-end cheeses, according to Schroder.

In particular, Swiss Valley will be working on building retail distribution of its Mindoro Blue over the coming year, he says. One way the company will be doing that is by building off the exposure Peter Harman — a.k.a. “the Food Guru” is giving Mindoro Blue. Harman is the host of “Food Guru Moments” which are 90-second cooking videos that appear on a number Midwest TV stations and are Podcast around the world. Harman is frequently using Mindoro Blue in his presentations.

In addition, to meet the needs of its foodservice customers on the Swiss side of the business, Swiss Valley recently introduced Baby Swiss wheels and loaves from its Platteville, Wis., plant that feature the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board’s (WMMB) Wisconsin cheese logo.

“This fills a need for customers looking for specialty cheese products made in Wisconsin,” says Schroder, who notes that partnering with WMMB and the Midwest Dairy Association are two important marketing strategies for the co-op in addition to trade shows, trade advertising and personal selling.

As a result of these efforts, Schroder adds, the co-op successfully has added several new accounts for both Blue and Swiss cheese this past year.

• Well-rounded product mix

Another part of Swiss Valley’s success, according to Schroder, is the co-op’s product mix. In addition to its mainstay cheeses Swiss, Baby Swiss and Blue, Swiss Valley also offers a complete line of hard Italian, club and process cheeses. And though it is generally the co-op’s Swiss and Blue that get the publicity for top awards, its other cheeses win awards, too. Neufchatel produced by Swiss Valley’s Luana, Iowa, plant was the top winner in the World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest’s reduced-fat cheese class last fall.

But cheese is just part of the story at Swiss Valley, where only about 40 percent of Swiss Valley’s sales come from cheese. The remainder of the co-op’s sales come from fluid, cultured and other products, making Swiss Valley a well-rounded supplier of dairy products in general.

The co-op continues to focus on building the fluid and cultured side of the business as well. To this end, it has introduced a number of new flavored dairy beverages including paper quarts of cherry chocolate milk for the holidays and Cravelatte, a pint-sized milk and coffee beverage introduced in January. Cravelatte is being offered in a number of sales venues, Schroder says, including grocery, drug and convenience stores as well as in vending machines. The product retails for $1-$1.50 per unit.

Meanwhile, Garfield the Cat remains a popular marketing tool for Swiss Valley, which has licensed the character for use on its chocolate milk in schools and on retail products.

Last summer, in response to consumer demand for stronger-flavored products, Swiss Valley also introduced a jalapeno dip which quickly became the co-op’s second-best selling flavor in its dip line, only eclipsed by French onion.

• Customer and community focus

While concentrating on making and marketing the best products it can, Swiss Valley Farms’ executives and board members also believe in being involved in the community.

The co-op says it was the first dairy in the Midwest to offer consumers a chance to collect milk caps that could be redeemed for money for their schools. For every cap sent in, Swiss Valley Farms gives a nickel to the school, which can be used for any purpose. Begun in 1999, the Cash for Caps program has raised more than $180,000 in cash for schools in the communities where Swiss Valley Farms milk is sold.

In order to both market its products and serve worthwhile causes, Swiss Valley is a sponsor of a Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure to support breast cancer research. Swiss Valley also is a sponsor of the Quad Cities’ popular Bix 7 running race.

Swiss Valley also continues to examine how it can better meet its customers’ needs through expanding and changing product offerings.

“With consumers becoming increasingly health conscious, we’re considering products with extended health benefits,” Schroder says.

“We are continuing to sharpen our focus on meeting the needs of our customers and consumers,” Hoeger adds.

CMN