What Scala does

Scala (legal name SCALON & CERCHI LTDA, operating as Queijos Scala / Scala Laticínios) is a privately held Brazilian dairy manufacturer founded in 1963 and headquartered in Sacramento, Minas Gerais. The company produces a comprehensive portfolio of cheeses — including mozzarella, prato, minas padrão, minas meia cura, colonial, coalho, parmesão (aged 6–18 months), montanhês, azul da serra, provolone, and brie — alongside dairy spreads (requeijão, cream cheese), butter, and sweet pastry fillings (Dolci Creme). Production runs across four facilities (Scala I–IV) in Sacramento and Patrocínio, with milk sourced from the Serra da Canastra region in Minas Gerais, leveraging controlled maturation chambers as a technical differentiator for aged cheeses.

The business operates a multi-channel go-to-market model spanning direct B2B Food Service sales to restaurants, hotels, bakeries, and pizzerias; wholesale distribution to retailers and atacadistas; direct-to-consumer e-commerce via comprescala.com.br with delivery to São Paulo, ABC, and Campinas; and a physical retail store (Empório Scala). Revenue is generated through one-time product sales across consumer retail (quote-based unit pricing) and Food Service (transaction-based quotes), with no subscription, licensing, or platform revenue model. Customer segmentation is hybrid, with Food Service and individual consumers marked as primary segments, and wholesale and retail/varejo as secondary channels.

The company maintains international environmental responsibility certification and food safety seals, complies with Brazil's LGPD data protection regime, and publishes statutory transparency and salary equality reports. Scala is independently owned with no disclosed parent company, subsidiaries, external institutional investors, or public listing, consistent with a traditional family/partnership-owned Brazilian dairy operator with regional rather than national scale.

Name

Scala

Legal name

SCALON & CERCHI LTDA

Website

https://scala.com.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Scala (Queijos Scala) is a privately held Brazilian dairy manufacturer founded in 1963 in Sacramento, Minas Gerais, producing cheeses, spreads, and butter from Serra da Canastra milk across four facilities, selling through Food Service B2B, wholesale, DTC e-commerce, and retail channels in domestic Brazil.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cheese and Dairy Manufacturing

NAICS

Cheese Manufacturing (311513), Dairy Product Manufacturing (3115), Dairy Product (except Frozen) Manufacturing (31151)

SIC

Dairy Products (2020)

akta.pro primary industry

Pasta Filata Cheese Manufacturing (Mozzarella, Provolone, String Cheese) (AFAHABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ripened Natural Cheese Manufacturing (Semi-Soft, Hard & Blue) (AFAHABAB), Fresh/Natural Cheese Manufacturing (Unripened & Soft) (AFAHABAA), Processed Cheese & Cheese Spreads Manufacturing (Slices, Loaves, Spreadable) (AFAHABAD), Grated, Shredded & Sliced Cheese Manufacturing (Value-Added Cuts) (AFAHABAF), Cheese (Natural & Processed) (CRADACAC)

Keywords

• Artisan cheese manufacturing
• Brazilian dairy products
• Food service supply
• Aged cheese production
• Minas Gerais cheeses

Headquarters

HQ city

Sacramento

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Cheese and dairy product sales: Revenue generated from manufacturing and selling a comprehensive portfolio of cheese products (mozzarella, prato, minas, parmesan, provolone, brie, colonial, meia cura, coalho, montanhês, azul da serra), butter, requeijão, cream cheese, and dolci creme. Products sold in various formats including whole pieces, fractional portions, and professional bulk packaging.
2. Food Service B2B sales: Direct sales to food service businesses including restaurants, hotels, bakeries, pizzerias, and other culinary establishments through dedicated Food Service division and sales team.
3. E-commerce direct sales: Online sales to individual consumers through their e-commerce platform, with delivery to São Paulo metropolitan region, ABC, and Campinas.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Scala manufactures and distributes a comprehensive portfolio of cheeses (mozzarella, prato, minas padrão, minas meia cura, colonial, coalho, parmesão, montanhês, azul da serra, provolone, brie) and other dairy products (butter, requeijão, cream cheese, dolci creme, creme de ricota) in both consumer retail formats and professional food service formats. The company operates multiple production facilities in Sacramento and Patrocínio, Minas Gerais, sourcing milk from the Serra da Canastra region and combining Italian cheese-making heritage with mineira regional tradition.

Product overview

Scala is a Brazilian dairy and cheese company based in Sacramento, Minas Gerais, with over six decades of history combining Italian tradition with Mineira heritage. The company produces a comprehensive portfolio of cheeses (including mozzarella, prato, minas varieties, parmesan, provolone, brie, and specialty cheeses), butter, requeijão (cheese spreads), cream cheese, and sweet fillings. Products are divided between retail lines for individual consumers and professional/food service lines for businesses. Scala sources milk from the Serra da Canastra region and emphasizes quality certifications and food safety standards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Queijo Mussarela (Mozzarella) Flagship mozzarella cheese produced with milk from the Serra da Canastra region, sold for retail and food service use.
• Queijo Prato Semi-soft sliceable Prato cheese popular in Brazil for retail and food service.
• Queijo Minas Padrão Traditional Minas Padrão cheese, a staple Brazilian cheese variety.
• Queijo Minas Meia Cura Semi-cured Minas cheese with controlled ripening process, firm texture and unique flavor.
• Queijo Colonial Colonial cheese, a traditional Minas Gerais cheese variety.
• Queijo de Coalho Brazilian fresh cheese often grilled or used in recipes.
• Queijo Parmesão Parmesan cheese in multiple ripening stages (6 months, 12 months, 18 months Speciale), formats including whole wheels, shredded, and flaked.
• Queijo Montanhês Traditional Minas Gerais Montanhês cheese variety.
• Azul da Serra Blue cheese variety from the Serra da Canastra region.
• Queijo Provolone Provolone cheese available whole or sliced, including Provolonete format.
• Queijo Tipo Brie Soft-ripened Brie-style cheese with edible white rind.
• Requeijão Cremoso Copo (Consumer) Creamy requeijão (cheese spread) in cup format for retail consumers, available in traditional, light, and zero lactose varieties.
• Requeijão Cremoso Linha Profissional Professional-line creamy requeijão in bag, bucket, and tube formats for food service businesses.
• Requeijão Cheddar Linha Profissional Professional-line cheddar requeijão in tube format for food service.
• Cream Cheese Cream cheese in multiple formats (tube, bucket, cup) and varieties including light, for retail and food service.
• Manteiga (Butter) Butter available with and without salt, in packaging sizes of 200g, 500g, and 5kg for retail and food service.
• Dolci Creme Sweet filling cream in chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate-hazelnut flavors for pastry and dessert applications.
• Creme de Ricota Ricotta cream, a lighter cheese spread option launched in 2025.

Quantifiable outcome

• International environmental responsibility certification
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Vigor: Large Brazilian dairy company with broad portfolio including cheeses, requeijão, butter, and cream cheese. Comparable to Scala across multiple overlapping SKUs but at materially greater national scale.
• Piracanjuba: Major Brazilian dairy company producing milk, cheeses, cream cheese, and dairy beverages. Comparable to Scala across cheese and dairy spread categories with broader national reach.
• Itambé: One of Brazil's largest dairy cooperatives, producing cheese, milk, and dairy ingredients at national scale. Comparable as a much larger dairy competitor operating across cheese categories where Scala competes.
• Aurora (Cooperativa Central Aurora Alimentos): Major Brazilian food cooperative producing dairy products including cheeses at significant scale. Comparable as a broader dairy player with overlapping cheese categories and national distribution.
• Lactalis do Brasil: Brazilian arm of global dairy giant Lactalis, owner of brands like Catupiry and Presidente. Comparable as a multinational dairy competitor with deep pockets and national distribution competing in Scala's core categories.

Direct peers

• Catupiry: Iconic Brazilian requeijão/cheese spread brand (owned by Lactalis) with broad national distribution. Comparable to Scala's requeijão product line and shared presence in retail and foodservice channels.
• Polenghi: Brazilian manufacturer of requeijão, cream cheese, and dairy spreads. Direct overlap with Scala's cream cheese and requeijão lines for both retail and professional/food service segments.
• Tirolez: Major Brazilian cheese manufacturer producing mozzarella, prato, minas, and other varieties for retail and food service. Most directly comparable mid-sized national cheese brand competing with Scala in similar product categories and channels.

Regional players

• Queijo Canastra (Serra da Canastra producers): Artisanal producers of traditional Serra da Canastra cheese in Minas Gerais. Comparable to Scala on geographic sourcing region and artisanal heritage, though typically smaller-scale and more focused on traditional queijo minas artesanal.

Others

• Danone Brasil: Multinational dairy company with presence in Brazil across yogurt, cream cheese, and dairy categories. Comparable as an adjacent dairy competitor with overlapping distribution channels and consumer segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCzcj8ilVW9uFNalYgqCT4Yg
• Facebookfacebook.com/laticinioscala
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/10908888
• Instagraminstagram.com/queijosscala

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Scala