Champlain Valley Creamery

What Champlain Valley Creamery does

Champlain Valley Creamery, Ltd. is a privately held, founder-owned artisan cheesemaker established in 2003 by Carleton Yoder in Middlebury, Vermont. The company produces handcrafted certified organic cheeses — including Old Fashioned Organic Cream Cheese, Organic Champlain Triple, Pyramid Scheme, Bleu de Champlain, Organic Queso Fresco, Organic Smoked Queso, Pepper Queso, and Champlain Truffle Triple — all made from 100% grass-fed organic Jersey cow milk sourced exclusively from Severy Farm in Cornwall, VT (approximately 40 cows, ~15 minutes from the creamery). Production takes place in a single net-zero solar-powered facility using small-batch vat pasteurization, hand ladling, and lactic curd techniques; the company is Certified Organic by Vermont Organic Farmers (VOF) and is a 2-Time American Cheese Society Award Winner.

The business sells through three channels: (1) wholesale via Vermont-based food distributors (Black River Produce, Provisions International, Upper Valley Produce) supplying retailers; (2) direct sales to restaurants and foodservice (Hen of the Wood, American Flatbread, Murray's Cheese, Beecher's Handmade Cheese, Caseus, Formaggio Kitchen, among others); and (3) direct-to-consumer via the company's website and retail partners. Retail footprint spans New England and New York, with Whole Foods placement across six Northeast states (CT, ME, MA, NY, RI, NJ). Pricing is not publicly disclosed; retailers are directed to distributors for stocking.

Operationally, the creamery is small (11–50 employees range, narratively a "small crew" supporting the founder), bootstrapped with no external funding or institutional investors, and structurally capacity-constrained by its single-farm milk supply. The 2018 transition from 10-gallon milk cans to a small tanker with a refrigerated bulk tank enabled two days of production from one batch of milk — the most significant operational scaling event on record. The company has no parent, no subsidiaries, and no M&A activity disclosed.

Name

Champlain Valley Creamery

Legal name

Champlain Valley Creamery, Ltd.

Website

https://cvcream.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Champlain Valley Creamery is a privately held, founder-owned artisan cheesemaker in Middlebury, Vermont that produces certified organic, handcrafted cheeses from 100% grass-fed Jersey milk sourced from a single local farm, selling to specialty retailers and restaurants across the Northeast U.S.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

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

SIC

Dairy Products (2020), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Cheese Manufacturing (AFAKAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fresh/Natural Cheese Manufacturing (Unripened & Soft) (AFAHABAA), Ripened Natural Cheese Manufacturing (Semi-Soft, Hard & Blue) (AFAHABAB), Dairy Spreads, Dips & Cream Cheese Manufacturing (AFAKAKAL), Cheese (Natural & Processed) (CRADACAC)

Keywords

• Artisan cheese making
• Organic dairy products
• Farmstead cheese
• Specialty cheese production
• Grass-fed dairy

Headquarters

HQ city

Middlebury

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Cheese product sales: The company generates revenue through the sale of handcrafted organic cheeses to retailers, restaurants, and direct consumers. Products include cream cheese, triple creme cheeses, queso fresco, smoked queso, pepper queso, Bleu de Champlain, and Pyramid Scheme.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Champlain Valley Creamery is a certified organic artisan cheesemaker that produces handcrafted cheeses (cream cheese, triple-crème, queso fresco, blue cheese, and flavored varieties) made exclusively from 100% grass-fed organic Jersey cow milk sourced from its own single farm in Middlebury, Vermont. The cheeses are sold wholesale through distributors to restaurants and retailers and direct to consumers.

Product overview

Champlain Valley Creamery is a certified organic artisan cheesemaker producing handcrafted award-winning cheeses from 100% grass-fed organic Jersey cow milk sourced from Severy Farm in Cornwall, Vermont. The product portfolio centers on three main lines: (1) Triple Creme products including Organic Champlain Triple (American Cheese Society Award Winner), its ash-ripened Pyramid Scheme variant, and the truffle-flavored Champlain Truffle Triple; (2) Organic Cream Cheese line featuring Old Fashioned Organic Cream Cheese made without stabilizers; and (3) Queso Fresco family including Organic Queso Fresco, Organic Smoked Queso (hickory smoked), and Pepper Queso (with Peppadew and jalapeno). The company also produces Bleu de Champlain, a raw-milk blue cheese aged 75-90 days. All cheeses except Pyramid Scheme are certified organic by Vermont Organic Farmers. Production occurs in a net-zero solar-powered facility using traditional techniques, small batch vat pasteurization, and hand-processing methods.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 2 American Cheese Society award wins (Old Fashioned Organic Cream Cheese and Organic Champlain Triple)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Severy FarmcoreOthersSevery Farm in Cornwall, VT supplies 100% grass-fed organic Jersey cow milk to Champlain Valley Creamery. Approximately 40 Jersey cows produce milk for the creamery, sourced about 15 minutes away from the creamery in Middlebury. The company uses a small tanker to haul milk from the farm, which was previously hauled in 10-gallon milk cans from 2003 to late 2018.
• Black River ProducecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBlack River Produce (North Springfield, VT) is a distributor for Champlain Valley Creamery products, distributing cheeses to restaurants throughout the New England region.
• Provisions InternationalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProvisions International (White River Jct., VT) is a distributor for Champlain Valley Creamery products.
• Upper Valley ProducecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUpper Valley Produce (White River Jct., VT) is a distributor for Champlain Valley Creamery products.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Vermont Creamery: Vermont artisan dairy producer of fresh and aged cheeses, cultured butters, and crème fraîche with national specialty and natural foods distribution. Directly comparable on craft production, Vermont origin, organic/sustainable positioning, and overlapping restaurant and retail customer base.
• Jasper Hill Farm: Vermont-based award-winning artisan cheesemaker with farmstead production and national distribution into premium retail and foodservice channels. Most directly comparable peer given shared Vermont geography, artisan positioning, ACS-recognized cheeses, and similar farm-to-table narrative.
• Beecher's Handmade Cheese: Seattle-based artisan cheesemaker producing handmade cheese with national retail and foodservice presence. Comparable on handcrafted production methods, premium positioning, and restaurant/cheese counter distribution; CVC is also stocked in Beecher's NYC location.
• Old Chatham Sheepherding Company: New York-based farmstead cheesemaker producing award-winning sheep's milk cheeses with regional Northeast distribution. Comparable on farmstead model, premium positioning, and farm-to-restaurant channel relationships.
• Consider Bardwell Farm: West Pawlet, Vermont farmstead artisan cheesemaker producing handcrafted cheeses from a single on-site farm. Highly comparable on small-scale, farm-sourced, award-winning artisan model with regional Northeast distribution.
• Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cheese: New York-based artisan farmstead cheesemaker producing small-batch cheeses from local dairy. Comparable on craft positioning, single-farm sourcing, regional foodservice and specialty retail distribution in the same Northeast corridor.

Broad incumbents

• Cabot Creamery Cooperative: Large Vermont dairy cooperative producing cheese, butter, and yogurt with national distribution. Comparable on Vermont dairy origin but operates at mass-market scale rather than CVC's artisan positioning.
• Cypress Grove Chevre: California-based specialty cheesemaker (Humboldt Fog, Truffle Tremor) with national retail distribution and broader product portfolio. Comparable on artisan-to-premium positioning and specialty retail distribution, but at significantly larger scale.

Regional players

• Sweet Grass Dairy: Georgia-based artisan cheesemaker producing small-batch farmstead cheeses distributed nationally through specialty and natural channels. Comparable on craft, award-winning positioning, but primarily serves the Southeast rather than the Northeast.

Others

• Murray's Cheese: New York-based specialty cheese retailer, wholesaler, and affineur with restaurant and retail locations; also a CVC customer. Comparable as a distribution channel and ecosystem player but not a manufacturing competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/champlain-valley-creamery

Compliance2 records

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 Champlain Valley Creamery