November 10, 2017
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NOT JUST FOR SALAD DRESSINGS — Simply Artisan Reserve is Litehouse Foods’ branded line of blue-veined and Feta cheeses. The company initially brought its cheese production in-house to have better control of a key salad dressing ingredient, but has expanded its offerings into a cheese brand that has won numerous awards.

QUALITY CHEESE — A Litehouse Foods employee makes cheese crumbles at the company’s SQF Level 3 certified facility.

By Kate Sander

SANDPOINT, Idaho — Growing from roots that date back nearly seven decades, in the last three years Litehouse Foods has burst on the retail scene with its Blue-veined and Feta cheeses.

Best known for its Blue cheese salad dressing in the refrigerated produce section, the company is building its presence in the deli with its Simply Artisan Reserve branded Blue, Gorgonzola and Feta.

• A simple recipe grows into something much bigger

Back in 1949, company founder Ed Hawkins Sr., a chef, had no idea his ingenuity in developing a creamy Blue cheese dressing would lead to a company, let alone a new cheese brand. At the time, he was simply responding to his boss’s feedback that the salad dressing being served at the restaurant where he was working wasn’t high enough quality.

Almost a decade later, in 1958, Hawkins and his wife Lorena purchased their own restaurant, Hurschell’s Lighthouse — the source of the name for and official founding of what would become Litehouse Foods — and began serving his creation atop salads.

Located on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille in Hope, Idaho, a tourist town, the restaurant quickly became known for the dressing, so much so that customers would bring in empty jars to fill with dressing to take home.

With that kind of popularity, Edward and Lorena knew they had something special, so in 1963 they scraped together enough money to purchase 12 cases of jars and had their Aunt Ethel Ashley design a logo for a label. The family mixed the dressing by hand in soup kettles.

The first jars of Litehouse Blue Cheese salad dressing — just 89 cents for 16 ounces — were sold to the produce department of Rogers Thrift in Sandpoint, Idaho.

That was just the beginning. Over the years, the company grew and evolved. In the late 1970s, the family decided to move the business to Sandpoint, Idaho, where it currently operates its headquarters today. The second generation of the Hawkins family assumed responsibility for the operations, and added products including freeze dried herbs, meat marinades, dressing packs for salad bars, dips for vegetable trays, caramel dip and other complementary food products. Litehouse also merged with Chadalee Farms Inc. of Lowell, Michigan, a company with a long history in foodservice and horseradish products.

But it wasn’t until this century that Litehouse began to make its mark on the cheese industry. Deciding that it was time to assume more control of its most critical ingredient, Litehouse in 2001 leased the nearby 50-year-old Pend Oreille Cheese Co. and started making its own handcrafted Blue cheese for its famous Blue Cheese dressing, says Margi Gunter, brand manager.

At first the cheese was used just for the company’s dressings. However, the company soon found that its own cheese was good — very good — and the company started selling Blue cheese to delis and co-packing it. Three years ago, Litehouse decided to change direction, launching its own Simply Artisan Reserve cheese line to showcase its cheesemaking expertise.

The line originally started under the Litehouse brand, but shifted to featuring the cheese under the Simply Artisan Reserve brand, which has been quite successful, Gunter says.

Litehouse has been an employee-owned company since 2006, and each one of the employee/owners is proud to carry on the high standards of quality and innovation, living up to the slogan “Because Taste Matters,” she adds.

• Creating award-winning cheese

Cheesemaker Marvin Sharp brings more than 40 years of experience to the Simply Artisan Reserve family of products, which includes cheese crumble cups, cheese crumble pouches, center cuts and wheels.

Since launching the Simply Artisan Reserve line, the company has won many awards, proving its cheese’s merit goes far beyond being a quality salad dressing ingredient.

Litehouse’s first award for the Simply Artisan Reserve brand was at the 2015 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest where its Simply Artisan Reserve Double Crème Gorgonzola was named Best of Class. Later that year, Simply Artisan Reserve Blue Cheese received first in the Cow’s Milk Rindless Blue Cheese Class at the American Cheese Society’s (ACS) cheese contest. In 2016, Litehouse swept the entire ACS class with first place for its Simply Artisan Reserve Double Crème Gorgonzola, second place for its Simply Artisan Reserve True Gorgonzola and third place for its Simply Artisan Reserve True Blue.

Now, Litehouse has held the top spot in the ACS Rindless Blue Cheese Class for three years running after winning first place for its Simply Artisan Reserve True Gorgonzola and second place for its Simply Artisan Reserve Gorgonzola at the competition this summer.

“We’re very thankful for those awards and their confirmation we’re making quality cheese,” Gunter says.

• Center of attention

One of Litehouse’s specialties is center cuts of Blue and Gorgonzola, which are 5-ounce pieces of cheese cut from the middle of wheels and packaged on a tray with a domed lid. The center cuts are popular for entertaining, Gunter says.

In addition to Blue-veined cheeses, Litehouse also offers a high-quality Feta, Gunter says. The cheeses are available in a few different formats. Four-ounce crumbles of Blue, Gorgonzola and Feta are the most popular package size and are available nearly nationwide, Gunter says. The company also offers all three cheeses in 6-ounce crumbles in clear pouches.

When it makes its crumbles, Litehouse is particular about what sizes of crumbles actually make it into the container. Only using good sized crumbles means there are usually a lot of fines, or very small pieces. While those work in dressings, Litehouse has found a new retail cheese use for them as well. The finely crumbled soft cheese is now being offered in a convenient, no waste, shakeable glass jar.

Marketed next to the salad dressings in the produce case, this innovation for the produce department features shakeable glass jars with lids with two flaps — one of the lid sides is small for sprinkling a little Feta or Blue cheese on a salad or any other dish, and the other side is larger for bigger quantities of fine cheese.

“We are excited to share this innovation that allows consumers to easily and conveniently enjoy soft cheese without creating waste,” Gunter says. “Now with a simple flick of the wrist, you can add just the right amount of cheese to everything from burgers to salads and soups.”

Other innovations also are in the pipeline, Gunter says. In addition, the company’s Hurricane, Utah, facility, purchased in 2011, is being expanded to support the company’s dressing, dip and sauce production as well as to add cooler space. All cheese production, however, will remain in Sandpoint, she says. Each of the company’s three facilities is SQF Level 3 certified.

As Litehouse continues to grow all of its businesses — including its flagship salad dressing line which is in the middle of a labeling makeover — cheese marketing remains of utmost importance, Gunter says.

There have been innumerable opportunities thanks to the ACS awards, she says, and the company has found success in sampling, advertising in trade and consumer publications, and being part of events like The Great American Beer Festival in Colorado last month.

“We also have a strong social media presence,” she says.

Heading into the holidays, Litehouse also is set to launch a national cheese promotion two weeks prior to Thanksgiving.

“Center of Attention” will feature inspiring photos of the company’s center cuts and offer usage ideas and discounts.

“We really want to communicate to people how to use the cheese,” Gunter says, noting the promotion will feature advertising, in-store promotions and sampling. Social media and blogger features will round out the program.

Center of Attention will run through New Year’s, with more consumer awareness events planned for 2018, Gunter says.

CMN