Massachusetts Cheese Guild

What Massachusetts Cheese Guild does

The Massachusetts Cheese Guild, Inc. is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade organization headquartered in Foxboro, Massachusetts that supports and markets the state's artisan cheesemaking industry. Its core constituency is a network of 15 professional artisan cheesemakers who collectively produce over 100 varieties of cheese and have won more awards per capita than cheesemakers in any other U.S. state. The Guild's mission centers on preserving the tradition of family dairy farming and cheesemaking — tracing its roots to 1624, when the first dairy cows arrived in the Boston area — and on making "world-class cheese made within an hour's drive" accessible to consumers across Massachusetts.

The Guild operates three discrete product lines: (1) a three-tier membership program — Cheese Lovers at $25/year, Business Members at $100/year, and Supporting Partners at $250/year — running on an annual calendar-year cadence with auto-renewal via Wild Apricot membership software; (2) the annual Massachusetts Cheese Festival, scheduled for June 20, 2026 at Stone Cow Brewery (Carter & Stevens Family Farm) in Barre, MA, expected to draw 500+ attendees and supported by a multi-tier sponsorship structure (Premium, Gold, Silver, Bronze); and (3) the MA Cheese Directory, an online listing of member cheesemakers and retail partners that functions as the primary discovery mechanism for consumers. The organization has no proprietary technology platform, no mobile applications, and no AI/ML capabilities disclosed; its digital infrastructure consists of a Squarespace-hosted website and the Wild Apricot membership backend.

Revenue is generated through three streams: membership dues (subscription-recurring), festival sponsorships (subscription-recurring for the annual cycle), and grants — most notably from the Massachusetts Dairy Promotion Board. The Guild does not sell cheese or any physical product directly; commercial cheese transactions occur at the producer or retail level independent of Guild intermediation. Distribution of member cheeses spans farm stores, farmers markets, independent specialty retailers (e.g., The Concord Cheese Shop, Debra's Natural Gourmet, Board 143), and supermarket chains (e.g., Roche Bros.), with some producers offering direct shipping via their own e-commerce storefronts. The Guild's stated geography is Massachusetts with a New England regional lens.

Name

Massachusetts Cheese Guild

Legal name

The Massachusetts Cheese Guild, Inc.

Website

https://macheeseguild.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Massachusetts Cheese Guild is a 501(c)(6) non-profit trade organization that supports Massachusetts artisan cheesemakers through three-tier membership, the annual MA Cheese Festival, and a cheese directory, serving 15 cheesemaker-members, retailers, sponsors, and cheese enthusiasts statewide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisan Cheese Trade Association

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920), Business Associations (81391)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Cheese (Natural & Processed) (CRADACAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Farmstead & Local Artisan Food Markets (Retail Shops) (CRAHAGAO)

Keywords

• Artisan cheesemaking
• Cheese trade association
• Cheese festival events
• Dairy farming advocacy
• Artisan cheese directory

Headquarters

HQ city

Foxboro

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues at three levels: Cheese Lovers ($25/yr), Business Members ($100/yr), and Supporting Partners ($250/yr). Membership runs with the calendar year and auto-renews unless opted out.
2. Festival Sponsorships: Sponsorship revenue from the annual Massachusetts Cheese Festival. The 2026 festival offers sponsorship tiers including Premium, Gold, Silver, and Bronze sponsors with varying visibility benefits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Massachusetts Cheese Guild is a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) trade organization that supports Massachusetts artisan and farmstead cheesemakers. It operates a tiered annual membership program for individuals and businesses, organizes the annual Massachusetts Cheese Festival, and maintains an online MA Cheese Directory that connects cheese lovers with local artisan producers. The Guild does not produce or sell cheese itself; it markets and supports its 15 member cheesemakers who collectively produce over 100 types of cheese.

Product overview

Massachusetts Cheese Guild is a not-for-profit trade organization (501(c)(6)) that connects cheese consumers with artisan cheesemakers across Massachusetts. Rather than offering a unified software product, the Guild operates through membership tiers (Cheese Lovers, Business Members, Supporting Partners) and organizes the annual Massachusetts Cheese Festival. The Guild's members include artisan cheesemakers producing over 100 types of cheeses, with products sold directly through farm stores, farmers markets, and specialty retailers. The Guild does not sell products directly but facilitates connections between producers and consumers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• More awards per capita than any state in the nation

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and moderate.

• Stone Cow BrewerycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2026Host venue for the 2026 Massachusetts Cheese Festival. Located at Carter & Stevens Family Farm, a fifth-generation dairy farm in Barre, MA. Soon to include a fully operational creamery producing farmstead artisan cheeses.
• Massachusetts Cheese Festival 2026 SponsorsmoderateGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Premium sponsors include Massachusetts Cheese Club, Culture Magazine, Ultreia Trek; Gold sponsors include Edible Pioneer Valley; Silver sponsors include Marty s Local, Alexian Pate, World s Best Cheese, Seacrest Foods; Bronze sponsors include Shubie s Marketplace; Friends include Provisions International, New England Dairy Promotion, Northeast Vinegar.
• Massachusetts Dairy Promotion BoardmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding provided in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Dairy Promotion Board, supporting the Guild's mission to advance artisan cheesemaking in Massachusetts.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Slow Food USA: National nonprofit advocating for local, artisan, and traditional food production. Mission-aligned with the MA Cheese Guild's support for family dairy farms and craft cheesemaking; comparable as a movement-driven food nonprofit but operating at national scale without the cheese-specific focus.
• New England Dairy: Regional dairy promotion organization funded by dairy farmer checkoff, already a festival sponsor of the MA Cheese Guild. Comparable as a nonprofit regional dairy marketing entity, though with a broader fluid-milk mission versus the cheese-specific focus of the Guild.
• Farmers Market Coalition: National nonprofit supporting farmers markets, where many MA Guild cheesemakers sell direct. Indirect peer in the artisan/local-food ecosystem; comparable as a member-driven nonprofit supporting small food producers via direct-to-consumer channels.

Direct peers

• Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association: State-level trade association representing cheesemakers, dairy processors, and related businesses in Wisconsin, the largest U.S. cheese-producing state. Direct structural peer to the MA Cheese Guild as a state trade association for the cheese industry, though at much greater scale.
• Vermont Cheese Council: Regional state-level cheese trade organization promoting Vermont cheesemakers, festivals, and educational programming. Closest geographic and structural analog to the Massachusetts Cheese Guild—both are small, membership-driven nonprofits supporting artisan cheese ecosystems in New England.
• Oregon Cheese Guild: State-level nonprofit trade organization representing Oregon artisan cheesemakers, hosting festivals, education, and member promotion. Direct structural peer to the Massachusetts Cheese Guild as a regional cheese trade association.

Broad incumbents

• American Cheese Society: National nonprofit organization supporting cheesemakers, retailers, and enthusiasts across the U.S., host of the annual ACS competition (where multiple MA Guild members have won). Functions as a broad incumbent that the MA Cheese Guild operates under at the regional level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MACheeseGuild
• Facebookfacebook.com/MaCheeseGuild
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/massachusetts-cheese-guild-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 Massachusetts Cheese Guild