Specialty Food Magazine

32 SPECIALTY FOOD SPECIALTYFOOD.COM Allison Hooper & Bob Reese V E R MON T C R E A M E RY W hen Allison Hooper and Bob Reese began working together in 1984, there were only a handful of goat cheese producers in the entire country. Now 40 years later, the company they built together, Vermont Creamery, has become widely known as one of the foremost makers of fresh goat cheese, along with cultured butter and other dairy products. Hooper and Reese were both working at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture in 1984. Hooper, who had previously spent a year working on a dairy farm in France and was at the time also working at a dairy farm in Vermont in addition to working as an intern at the agency, offered to make some goat cheese for an agency dinner. Some chefs in attendance took notice, and the rest is history. "It was really an improbable success," says Hooper. "Just meeting each other was serendipitous. We didn't really know each other very well, but I think that we each recognized the other person brought something to the table, and we latched on to that." Reese, who had just received his MBA and was actively promoting Vermont food businesses, had the right contacts and business skills, and Hooper provided the cheesemaking know-how. They launched their business together—an idea suggested by Reese's wife—and began supplying products directly to consumers and local chefs. Many of those chefs, who quickly realized that the quality of their cheese was on a par with what they were obtaining from France, were instrumental in the company's early growth. "We really have to thank those chefs for embracing it," says Reese, who noted that most retailers at that time carried very little in the way of imported or artisanal cheese. The company supplied some natural and health-food stores, but the specialty cheese industry was not yet mainstream enough for the major grocery chains. This was just as well for Hooper and Reese, who were facing plenty of challenges trying to secure enough goat milk for the demand they had, while navigating the complexities of supply and demand in what was essentially a brand-new industry for the country. As consumers became more interested in specialty foods, however, and discovered that American cheese could compete on quality with European varieties, the demand from larger grocery chains picked up. Hooper and Reese both recalled attending Fancy Food Shows in the early years of their company when they received more interest than they could accommodate, given their production capacity at the time. "We received some pretty large orders," says Reese. "We wanted the business, but we didn't want to over-promise and under-deliver." Luckily, he says, some wholesalers and distributors were willing to work with the company and agreed to take whatever product it could produce. The company expanded its production capacity over the years, and Hooper continued to innovate with unique, high-quality, and award-winning products. As consumer interest in specialty foods, and goat cheese in particular, has grown over the years, Hooper says it's been gratifying to see these products become more widely available. Vermont Creamery was acquired by Land O'Lakes in 2017. "I never would have thought that you could go into a supermarket and see not just one brand of fresh goat cheese, but three or four," she says. "Now there are a lot of choices, and of course, that's great for consumers. It's a very, very competitive market now."—M.H. Lifetime Achievement Award 2024

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