What Worlds Best Cheeses does

World's Best Cheeses, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned specialty food distributor headquartered in Armonk, NY. Founded as LIPCO on Long Island around 1980 and renamed to its current identity in 1995 ahead of a move to its Armonk facility, the company has grown into one of the leading cheese distributors in the United States, offering a curated catalog of more than 3,500 specialty food products sourced from producers worldwide. Its serving base is horizontal B2B — restaurants, delis, specialty food retailers, and other food-service operators — addressed through direct field sales rather than self-service digital channels. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; product guides (2024 and 2025 editions) are downloadable without prices, with quotes mediated by an in-house sales team.

The company's bi-coast footprint is the defining feature of its operating model. A 2012 consolidation phase — acquisition of Crystal Foods (New England, extending delivery north of Hartford) and acquisition of CWI Specialty Foods/Cheeseworks (which gave the company a California presence and eliminated a major East Coast competitor) — produced a second regional entity, World's Best Cheeses West, based in Alameda, CA. Logistics are run on an owned truck fleet with weekly transfer runs linking the East and West operations, enabling regional producers on each coast to access a national customer base. A secondary office in Somerville, MA supports the New England territory inherited from Crystal Foods.

Commercially, the company relies on enterprise field sales, knowledgeable account support, and the breadth of its single catalog as primary differentiators, alongside purchasing-power economies of scale that emerged from the 2012 consolidation. Marketing presence is modest — organic Instagram and Twitter accounts and downloadable catalogs — with no e-commerce, app, or self-service ordering channel documented. The company is family-controlled (Joe Gellert as owner/president, Stephen Gellert as second-generation leadership), with no disclosed venture, private equity, or institutional capital and no public revenue figures.

Name

Worlds Best Cheeses

Legal name

World's Best Cheeses, Inc.

Website

https://wbcheese.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

World's Best Cheeses is a privately held, family-owned specialty food distributor headquartered in Armonk, NY, offering over 3,500 cheese and specialty food SKUs to food-service operators and retailers across the U.S. East and West Coasts via owned-truck distribution and direct field sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Food Distribution

NAICS

Dairy Product (except Dried or Canned) Merchant Wholesalers (424430)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140)

akta.pro primary industry

Cheese Wholesale (AFAIAEAC)

Keywords

• Specialty cheese distribution
• Wholesale food distribution
• Specialty food importer
• Cheese logistics services
• B2B food distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Armonk

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Specialty Food Distribution: The company generates revenue through the distribution and sale of specialty cheeses and specialty foods. They offer over 3,500 products sourced from producers worldwide. Revenue is generated through direct product sales to customers along the East Coast and West Coast, with efficient delivery logistics enabling regular truck deliveries to restaurants, retailers, and other food service businesses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

World's Best Cheeses is a wholesale distributor of more than 3,500 specialty cheeses and specialty foods sourced from producers around the world, selling to restaurants, delis, specialty food retailers, and other food service operators along the U.S. East Coast and West Coast. The company runs an owned truck fleet with weekly transfer trucks between East and West Coast warehouses, and supplements distribution with downloadable Product Guides and a Retail Ready booklet of precut, shelf-ready products.

Product overview

World's Best Cheeses is a specialty food distribution company offering over 3,500 specialty foods, with cheese as its core product category. The company operates as a single unified distribution service supplemented by downloadable product catalogs (Product Guide, Retail Ready Guide) that list available products. Founded nearly 45 years ago and headquartered in Armonk, NY, the company has grown through acquisitions (Crystal Foods in 2012, CWI Specialty Foods/Cheeseworks in 2012) to become one of the leading cheese distributors in the United States, with additional offices in Somerville, MA and Alameda, CA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Specialty Cheese and Food Wholesale Distribution Wholesale distribution of more than 3,500 specialty cheeses and specialty foods sourced from producers worldwide, delivered to restaurants, delis, specialty food retailers, and other food service businesses along the U.S. East Coast and West Coast via the company's owned truck fleet. Includes a Retail Ready line of precut cheeses packaged for direct shelf placement in retail establishments.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CWI Specialty Foods (Cheeseworks)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2012Acquired in October 2012, CWI Specialty Foods (also known as Cheeseworks) was one of World's Best Cheeses' biggest competitors on the East Coast and had a strong presence in California. This acquisition enabled the creation of 'World's Best Cheeses West' and gave the company access to the California market. The acquisition provided larger purchasing power and other economies of scale.
• Crystal FoodscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Acquired in 2012, Crystal Foods was a New England-based specialty food distributor. The acquisition was strategically complementary as Crystal Foods specialized in high-end cheeses while World's Best Cheeses focused on mid-range products. Crystal Foods brought customers located north of Hartford, CT, expanding the company's delivery range along the East Coast. Together, the companies achieved significant cost savings, improved operations, and created an unmatched product selection in the industry.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• US Foods: Major US broadline foodservice distributor with a Specialty division covering imported and artisan cheeses, charcuterie, and gourmet ingredients. Comparable competitor at the foodservice account level, particularly for mid-sized and larger restaurant chains.
• KeHE Distributors: One of the largest US specialty food and beverage distributors serving natural, organic, and gourmet channels including independent grocers and foodservice. Comparable as a specialty-focused distributor with national reach; significantly larger scale than World's Best Cheeses.
• Gordon Food Service: Large broadline foodservice distributor serving restaurants and foodservice operators across North America, with an expanding specialty and imported product range. Adjacent competitor to World's Best Cheeses for foodservice accounts in overlapping geographies.
• Sysco Corporation: Largest US broadline foodservice distributor with an extensive specialty/imported cheese offering via its Specialty Meat Group and Cutting Edge Solutions. Competes with World's Best Cheeses for premium restaurant accounts and uses scale advantages to pressure mid-market specialty distributors.

Direct peers

• Schuman Cheese: Family-owned specialty cheese importer and distributor supplying retail, foodservice, and industrial customers across the US. Comparable as an importer/distributor of premium and specialty cheeses with a similar relationship-driven sales model.
• Atalanta Corporation: Major US importer and distributor of specialty foods, cheeses, and Italian/European gourmet products. Directly comparable as a specialty/imported food wholesaler to foodservice and retail; notably, Atalanta previously owned World's Best Cheeses (as Long Island Cheese & Specialties) before the 1984 management buyout.
• DPI Specialty Foods: Specialty foodservice distributor focused on independent restaurants, with categories including cheese, meats, and gourmet ingredients. Direct peer to World's Best Cheeses given overlapping customer base (independent restaurants/retail) and specialty/imported product mix.

Emerging players

• Murray's Cheese: Specialty cheese retailer and wholesaler with a national wholesale division supplying cheese to restaurants and grocers. Comparable as a specialty cheese-focused operator with a strong brand in the premium segment, though primarily retail-led.

Others

• Marin French Cheese Company: US specialty cheese manufacturer (not distributor). Included as an adjacent/ecosystem participant — a potential supplier or partner rather than a competitor — illustrating the producer side of the supply chain World's Best Cheeses depends on.

Regional players

• Hoffman Family Farms / Hoffman's Cheese: Regional specialty cheese distributor serving the Northeast and select US markets with imported and domestic cheeses. Comparable as a regional specialty cheese wholesaler competing for overlapping East Coast accounts.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wbcheeses
• Instagraminstagram.com/wbcheeses
• Facebookfacebook.com/WorldsBestCheeseWest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/worldsbestcheeses

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

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 Worlds Best Cheeses