New Sheboygan Company Will Link Cheesemakers

BizTimes Daily, October 24, 2006

Christopher and Julie Gentine today announced the creation of the Artisan Cheese Exchange, an export management and trading company linking specialty cheesemakers in the United States with trading partners in key overseas markets.

The new Sheboygan-based company will act as a bridge between cheesemakers in the United States and customers across the globe, providing supply chain services, and sales and marketing strategies to ensure international consumers the freshest, most consistent American artisan cheeses available.

"Cheesemakers in the Midwest, New England, the Pacific Northwest, California and throughout the United States have demonstrated a renewed passion for their craft in recent years, winning awards for their top quality artisan, organic, specialty and farmstead cheeses," said Christopher Gentine, the company's owner and president. "At the same time, cheese has become a favorite on menus in Europe, Asia, South America and other locations worldwide. We believe it's time for these American originals and their cheesemakers to be recognized in the thriving international marketplace."

The Artisan Cheese Exchange has already established relationships with some of the country's most respected artisan cheesemakers, Gentine said, and several trade missions have been made to introduce their cheeses to the international marketplace.

The Gentine family name has been synonymous with top quality cheese for three generations, as Gentine's grandfather founded Sargento Foods in Sheboygan.

Additional information about the Artisan Cheese Exchange is available on the company's Web site, www.cheese-exchange.com.