Sweet Grass Dairy
Sweet Grass Dairy is a Thomasville, Georgia-based artisan cheese producer handcrafting nine cheese varieties from grass-fed Jersey cows. It sells direct-to-consumer nationwide, through Goldbelly and wholesale foodservice, and operates a downtown cheese shop restaurant.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersThomasville, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Sweet Grass Dairy does
Sweet Grass Dairy is an artisan cheese producer based in Thomasville, Georgia, founded in 2000 by Al and Desiree Wehner after they converted their family dairy in 1993 to an intensive rotational grazing system using predominantly Jersey cows that graze on grass 365 days a year. The milk is processed on-site into nine handcrafted cheese varieties, including Green Hill (double-cream soft-ripened), Asher Blue (raw-milk blue), Thomasville Tomme (Pyrenees-style farmhouse), Lil' Moo (spreadable fresh cheese), Pimento Cheese, Griffin (porter-washed), Georgia Gouda, Cypress (Mediterranean-inspired), and Heat (Southwestern-style). The company distributes through four channels: a Shopify-hosted e-commerce site with national cold-chain shipping, a Goldbelly marketplace listing, wholesale foodservice and retail accounts with documented spec sheets, and a restaurant and retail cheese shop opened in 2010 in downtown Thomasville.
Ownership is concentrated with Jessica Little and Jeremy Little, who purchased the cheesemaking business from the founders in 2005; the original Wehner family retained the dairy farming operation. The company has accumulated over 30 national and international cheese awards since 2015, including World Cheese Awards, Good Food Awards, American Cheese Society medals, and a Specialty Food Association Sofi Award, and has been featured in Food & Wine, O Magazine, Southern Living, and Garden and Gun. Marketing is primarily organic: an email newsletter with a 10% first-order incentive, an SMS program, an extensive recipe blog, and social media.
Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The firm employs 11–50 people, operates a single creamery and a single restaurant, and has no institutional capital, no M&A activity, and no disclosed funding rounds. New initiatives include the Farm Camp 2025 educational program ($150/camper, limited to 100 children) and continued national wholesale expansion. The technical stack is conventional commerce tooling (Shopify, Revelup, Google Drive, Goldbelly) with no identified AI/ML capability.
Sweet Grass Dairy firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sweet Grass Dairy
- Legal name
- Sweet Grass Dairy
- Website
- https://sweetgrassdairy.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Sweet Grass Dairy is a Thomasville, Georgia-based artisan cheese producer handcrafting nine cheese varieties from grass-fed Jersey cows. It sells direct-to-consumer nationwide, through Goldbelly and wholesale foodservice, and operates a downtown cheese shop restaurant.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sweet Grass Dairy industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Artisan Cheese
- NAICS
- Cheese Manufacturing (311513), Dairy Product (except Frozen) Manufacturing (31151), Dairy Cattle and Milk Production (112120), Dairy Product Manufacturing (3115)
- SIC
- Dairy Products (2020), Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Pasture-Based & Grazing Dairy Systems (AFAEACAI)
Keywords
Where Sweet Grass Dairy is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Thomasville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Sweet Grass Dairy business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
Revenue model
- Cheese Production and Direct Sales: Handcrafted artisan cheeses sold directly to consumers through e-commerce shipping nationwide, with perishable products shipped in insulated boxes with frozen gel packs.
- Restaurant/Cheese Shop Operations: Full-service restaurant in downtown Thomasville, GA offering handcrafted cheese and charcuterie boards, sandwiches, salads, small plates, desserts, cocktails, and 8 taps of craft beer.
- Foodservice and Retail Distribution: National distribution of cheeses to restaurants, retailers, and distributors through wholesale channels, with product information sheets available for trade customers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Farm Camp 2025 - 4-day educational camp for children ages 3 to 2nd grade |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Sweet Grass Dairy product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sweet Grass Dairy is an artisan cheese producer that handcrafts nine varieties of cheese from the milk of grass-fed Jersey cows raised under an intensive rotational grazing system on their farm in Thomasville, Georgia. The company sells cheeses through its own e-commerce site, a restaurant and cheese shop in downtown Thomasville, national foodservice and retail wholesale distribution, and the Goldbelly marketplace. It also runs an educational Farm Camp program for young children.
Product overview
Sweet Grass Dairy is an artisan cheese company operating as a single unified product line centered on handcrafted cheeses made from the milk of grass-fed Jersey cows. Their core portfolio consists of nine distinct cheese products: Green Hill (double cream soft-ripened), Asher Blue (raw milk blue), Thomasville Tomme (French-style farmhouse cheese), Lil' Moo Original (spreadable fresh cheese), Pimento Cheese (Southern classic), Griffin (beer-washed farmstead), Georgia Gouda (young Dutch-style), Cypress (Mediterranean-inspired herb cheese), and Heat (Southwestern spicy). Beyond cheese production, the company operates the Cheese Shop restaurant in Thomasville offering charcuterie, sandwiches, and craft beverages, and runs Farm Camp educational programs for children. The company distributes nationally and sells through their own website, Goldbelly marketplace, and the on-site restaurant.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Companies that use Sweet Grass Dairy
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Sweet Grass Dairy technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature1 record
Sweet Grass Dairy partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- For Good GranolaminorCollaboration on recipe development. For Good Granola is a women-owned company based in Chicago that crafts flavor-indulgent buckwheat granola. They partnered on recipes like Spinach, Georgia Gouda, and Sweet Curry Strata with For Good Granola Sweet Curry Buckwheat granola.
- Gate City BrewingminorSupplier of Terminus Porter beer used in production of Griffin cheese. The cheese curds are soaked in an entire half barrel of Terminus Porter from Gate City Brewing.
- GoldbellyminorOnline marketplace platform where Sweet Grass Dairy cheeses are sold nationally. Products available include Green Hill cheese wedge, Asher Blue wedge, Griffin wedge, Georgia Gouda wedge, Heat wedge, and Pimento Cheese.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sweet Grass Dairy competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Vermont Creamery: An artisan dairy and cheese producer selling fresh and aged cheeses plus cultured butter nationwide through DTC, foodservice, and retail channels. Highly comparable in size, channel mix, and quality story to Sweet Grass Dairy.
- Rogue Creamery: An Oregon-based award-winning artisan cheesemaker famous for its blue cheeses (e.g., Rogue River Blue) with national DTC and wholesale distribution. Direct peer in craft, awards, and channel structure.
- Jasper Hill Farm: A Vermont farmstead cheesemaker producing multiple aged raw-milk cheeses (e.g., Bayley Hazen Blue, Cabot Clothbound) with national distribution and a caves-based aging model. Comparable craft positioning and channel mix.
- Beecher's Handmade Cheese: A Seattle-based artisan cheese maker combining a flagship cheese-making retail/restaurant experience with national foodservice and wholesale distribution of premium cheeses. Closely comparable retail + foodservice model.
- Maytag Dairy Farms: Iowa-based farmstead producer of award-winning raw milk blue cheese (e.g., Maytag Blue) with national specialty distribution. Direct peer in premium blue cheese category and small-scale artisan structure.
- Grafton Village Cheese: A Vermont craft cheesemaker producing award-winning aged cheeses (e.g., Vermont Cheddar, Griddu), national specialty distribution, and direct retail. Comparable small-batch artisan model with overlap on aged cheese categories.
- Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company: California farmstead cheesemaker offering a range of award-winning cheeses (e.g., Original Blue, Toma) with broad national wholesale distribution. Comparable in scale, channel breadth, and family-farm heritage.
Broad incumbents
- Cabot Creamery: A farmer-owned Vermont dairy cooperative producing a wide range of cheese and dairy products with substantial national retail presence. Larger incumbent offering overlapping cheese categories at more accessible price points.
- Cypress Grove (Emmi Roth): Northern California-origin premium goat cheese maker (e.g., Humboldt Fog) now part of Emmi Roth's broader specialty dairy portfolio. Similar artisan origin story with significantly broader scale after acquisition.
Others
- Goldbelly (marketplace): Online curated food marketplace that distributes Sweet Grass's cheeses and many peers' products nationwide. Listed here as an ecosystem/partner enabler rather than direct competitor, central to the company's national growth.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Sweet Grass Dairy social profiles
Digital presenceSweet Grass Dairy financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sweet Grass Dairy leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Sweet Grass Dairy funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sweet Grass Dairy M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sweet Grass Dairy
What does Sweet Grass Dairy do?
Sweet Grass Dairy is an artisan cheese producer that handcrafts nine varieties of cheese from the milk of grass-fed Jersey cows raised under an intensive rotational grazing system on their farm in Thomasville, Georgia. The company sells cheeses through its own e-commerce site, a restaurant and cheese shop in downtown Thomasville, national foodservice and retail wholesale distribution, and the Goldbelly marketplace. It also runs an educational Farm Camp program for young children.
Is Sweet Grass Dairy a public or private company?
Sweet Grass Dairy is a private company. It is currently operating.
When was Sweet Grass Dairy founded?
Sweet Grass Dairy was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Sweet Grass Dairy based?
Sweet Grass Dairy is headquartered in Thomasville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sweet Grass Dairy make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Cheese Production and Direct Sales are the primary driver. The others are restaurant/Cheese Shop Operations and foodservice and Retail Distribution.
Who are Sweet Grass Dairy's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Vermont Creamery, Rogue Creamery, Jasper Hill Farm, Beecher's Handmade Cheese, Maytag Dairy Farms, Grafton Village Cheese and Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company. Broad incumbents are Cabot Creamery and Cypress Grove (Emmi Roth). Goldbelly (marketplace) is listed as an others.
Does Sweet Grass Dairy have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sweet Grass Dairy.
What industry is Sweet Grass Dairy in?
Sweet Grass Dairy's product category is Artisan Cheese. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAEACAI, Pasture-Based & Grazing Dairy Systems. Its NAICS code is 311513 and its SIC code is 2020.