Somebody's Cheese Moved Me

This morning's UW-MANIAC Breakfast Series featured a presentation by Laurie Greenberg and Joe Burns, sharing a taste of their experiecnes in the world of artisanal cheese. It was a great discussion of how they recognized a need, created opportunities that built upon their strengths, and have emerged with some pretty innovative accomplishments. What did you get from this discussion? How might you take the ideas from it back to your work? Share your perspective on this Blog!

Laurie shared her journey towards creation of the WI Dairy Business Innovation Center, an organization that now catalyzes development of specialty dairy products through training, grants, and networking programs. Joe described his journey from being a wine buyer in Chicago to a collaboration with Brunkow Cheese in Mineral Point to create the highly successful Fayette Creamery line of artisan cheeses. They sell at several farmers' markets, to cheese specialty shops across Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minneesota, and innovate in the development of new specialty cheeses with great success.

Several things jumped out for me this morning:

• The metrics for success that are traditionally applied work against the development of innovative products. In the cheese industry, when Laurie first got involved she found that these metrics and resources (and infrastructure) were geared towards large-scale production of commodities. As a result, small-scale operations and specialty producers were not understood properly, and they couldn't 'break in' very easily. We find similar barriers to entry in other fields, simply because the metrics of success are geared towards the predictability and standardization of commodities. Sure, your basic cheddar cheese has a predictably taste, texture, and color, but is it interesting to the pallate?
• There was an opportunity emerging in Wisconsin from a combination of circumstances... locally, traditional dairy operations were closing and family farms being sold. Globally, the specialty market trend was emerging. From these two needs emerged an opportunity to develop high value dairy products that could be marketed throughout the world... artisan cheeses could become a part of that solution. We find other circumstances that beg similar inquiry: The traditional US manufacturing economy can't produce commodity products as cost-effectively as many other nations, but we may be able to offer specialty products, with our unique innovative flair, and distribute them cost-effectively through pre-existing networks.
• There is great value to be derived, most simply, from the joy of working in a way you love. Joe never imagined himself working in cheese, and his partners may not have imagined selling to specialty shops in Chicago and its suburbs. Yet, they are now selling as much as they can produce. They won't necessarily raise capacity, as they value their relationships with their customers and one another... something only accomplished by going out there and talking with them. There is most certainly something to be said about the value of maintaining such scale and balance in our work.
• There are still many questions to answer, and DBIC seems like a good place to ask them. There remain major challenges of infrastructure, especially around transportation (which is costly and specialized), and the overall dairy industry in Wisconsin remains jeopardized. But there are great resources at UW and expertise now being spread so people can develop these specialty cheeses, and an increasing attitude of entrepreneurship that may foster important 'intercultural exchanges' among folks of varying backgrounds and expertise. It seems like a story we should follow some more...

Thanks, Laurie and Joe, for your creativity, passion, and persistence!

For a complete listing of Wisconsin artisan cheese producers, visit: http://www.dbicusa.org/resources/artisandir08finallo.pdf

-Harry