June 17, 2011
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SWISS QUALITY — Mifroma USA recently began importing high-quality Swiss-made cheeses for U.S. customers.

STATE-OF-THE ART AGING PROGRAM— Mifroma’s cheeses are aged in a climate-controlled, state-of-the-art cave in Switzerland that can age more than 120,000 wheels of cheese at a time.

By Kate Sander

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. — In dairy industry circles, it’s widely known that cheeses produced in Switzerland often end up at the top of competitions. However, when it comes to U.S. consumers, Italian, French or U.S.-produced cheese often get the attention for their quality and the story behind them.

Now Swiss retail giant Migros is working on changing all that by getting Switzerland-produced cheeses in the mouths of U.S. consumers.

Mifroma USA, a subsidiary of Migros Genossenschafts-Bund and a division of M-Industry, opened in January of this year. Led by Paul Schilt, executive vice president, and Jim Basta, West Coast regional manager, the company is working on introducing cheese produced by Swiss cheesemakers throughout the United States.

Mifroma has long been a dairy processor with holdings in Switzerland and other European nations. Its parent company, Migros, a food producer and retailer with annual sales of $25 billion in 2010, also has exported other non-dairy products to the United States.

The opening of the U.S. dairy division makes available the company’s Emmentaler, Switzerland Swiss, Gruyere, Appenzeller, fondue and exclusive specialty cheeses in markets on both the East and West coasts.

“Mifroma is proud to uphold the tradition of the high-quality dairy products manufactured in our home country of Switzerland,” says Schilt, a Swiss native who has worked in the U.S. dairy market for many years. “We are excited about bringing delicious Swiss cheese products to cheese lovers across the United States.”

Swiss-style cheeses are popular in the United States and have long been made in the United States and elsewhere, Schilt says, adding that at one time, it seemed that Switzerland was exporting more cheesemakers than cheese. And while quality cheeses can be produced anywhere, Switzerland-produced cheeses are originals, he says.

“We want to establish Switzerland as a cheese destination,” he says, noting that it can be as much of a cheese mecca as Italy or France. “I think Mifroma can bring back some of the mystique of Switzerland.”

In Europe, Mifroma does about $360 million worth of business in Swiss cheeses, another $15 million in Appenzeller cheeses and also a large business in other dairy products. Overall, the company handles more than 300 varieties of cheese and the core company Migros operates 530 stores in Europe. The opening of the U.S. cheese division is part of the company’s worldwide expansion plan.

The company’s main cheese plant is in the western part of Switzerland, but it also operates other dairy-related plants in Switzerland. The company owns several divisions: dairy division Elsa with 900 SKUs and turnover of approximately $650 million annually; Swiss cheese specialties producer Mifroma with 600 SKUs and turnover of $360 million annually; Mifroma France with 150 SKUs and $60 million in sales; and several other smaller dairy divisions that make Appenzeller cheeses and other dairy specialities.

In the United States, Schilt notes Mifroma brings a small group of dedicated professionals with a unique expertise gained from more than 60 years of cheese experience. To better serve customers nationwide, it also has a sales and administrative location in Florida where Schilt is based, as well as a regional sales office in Oregon, headed by Basta.

In addition, the company recently appointed Willis Marketing as its Northwest U.S. broker. The Northwest broker, with offices in Washington and Oregon, specializes in deli, bakery, meat and packaging products.

“Mifroma was looking for a broker that would uphold the high standards of our Swiss cheeses,” Schilt says. “Willis Marketing was an obvious choice to help us bring our authentic Swiss cheese products to cheese lovers in the Northwest.”

Schilt says the company intends to get the word out about its product through distributors, trade magazines, fliers and trade shows; most recently company representatives attended this month’s International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association show. Mifroma USA also has launched a Facebook presence.

Gruyere is the company’s biggest seller, followed by Switzerland Swiss, a milder pasteurized, rindless square Swiss block cheese. The company’s traditional Emmentaler is a distinctive raw milk cheese made in 200-pound wheels and aged for at least four months in a cave in Switzerland.

The company’s Gruyere is available at three different ages: mild, traditional Gruyere; Reserve, which is aged eight months; and Cavern Reserve, which is aged a minimum of 11 months in the company’s Swiss cave.

The cave is one area that readily sets Mifroma apart from others, Schilt notes. Built into the side of a hill, the climate-controlled, state-of-the-art cave can age more than 120,000 wheels of cheese at a time, he says.

When the cheese is ready for retail in the United States, it is then either packaged in Switzerland or shipped to a U.S. converter and put into just about any size and type package a customer can want, Schilt says.

“Cheeses from Switzerland — if you want them or need them, we have them,” Schilt says.

While Mifroma can offer just about any kind of Swiss-produced cheese a customer demands, the typical lead time for any significant quantity of cheese is about six to eight weeks due to the nature of trans-Atlantic shipping.

Mifroma USA customers can count on the quality for which Swiss products have come to be known, Schilt adds. The company focuses on responding to the needs and expectations of consumers by ensuring constant innovation in products and technology.

“In everything we do, quality and reliability are what we believe in above all else. But those are not the only values that are important,” the parent company says on its website. “Solidarity with Switzerland and acting responsibly with regard to the environment and resources are elements that are just as important. We regularly invest in improving energy efficiency in our production, guarantee the traceability of raw materials and win customers over with our eco-friendly products.”

CMN