| Founded | 1888 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | |
| Website | www |
Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Company Holdings Limited (WCB) is an Australian-based company manufacturing dairy products, majority-owned by Saputo Inc., a Canadian company, that manufactures a range of dairy products under various brands. The business is based in Allansford, Victoria and is the oldest dairy processor in Australia, having been established in 1888. [1] [2] It owns cheese brands COON and Cracker Barrel.
The company was registered on 28 May 1888 and the construction of factory facilities followed. [3] In fact, two co-operative companies opened cheese and butter factories in Victoria in 1888; the first to open, on 22 October, was the Cobden and District Cheese and Butter Factory Company Ltd, and then on 14 November the Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Co. Ltd. opened their factory in Allansford. [4] At the start, the main product was cream, which was taken to Melbourne by rail. [4]
Initially, Warrnambool Cheese & Butter sourced their milk from local farmers, and in 1889 all suppliers became shareholders. [3] Butter production expanded during the 1890s, and by 1900, Victoria had 304 butter factories. [4]
In November 1934 Kraft Walker Cheese Co. leased the factory owned by Warrnambool Cheese & Butter and expanded operations. [5] Kraft Walker began manufacturing "Red Coon" (later to be renamed COON) cheese, around July 1931. [6] [7] [8]
In 2015, WCB paid A$137.5 million for a part of Lion Dairy & Drinks' business, including the cheese brands Cracker Barrel and COON. [9]
As of 2015 [update] the company produces cheese, butter, cream and dairy ingredients, roughly half of which is sold overseas. Local brands include the Sungold milk, Coon cheese, Cracker Barrel, Mil Lel, Great Ocean Road and Warrnambool Cheddar cheeses. [10] It is also one of the two Australian producers making nutraceutical products from milk extracts, including bone supplements[ further explanation needed ] and baby formula. [11]
They also own and run the tourist attraction called Cheese World, close to the factory, which includes a dairy farm museum and an opportunity to sample cheeses, as well as a shop and cafe. [12] [13]
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars. Cadbury is internationally headquartered in Uxbridge, west London, and operates in more than 50 countries worldwide. It is known for its Dairy Milk chocolate, the Creme Egg and Roses selection box, and many other confectionery products. One of the best-known British brands, in 2013 The Daily Telegraph named Cadbury among Britain's most successful exports.
Macaroni and cheese—also called mac and cheese in the United States and macaroni cheese in the United Kingdom—is a dish of cooked macaroni pasta and a cheese sauce, most commonly cheddar. It can also incorporate other ingredients, such as breadcrumbs or meat.
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Cheer, formerly marketed as Coon, is the Australian trademark of a cheddar cheese produced by the Warrnambool Cheese and Butter company, which is majority-owned by Canadian dairy company Saputo Inc.
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Farmers Union is a brand name established by the South Australian Farmers' Co-operative Union Ltd (SAFU), and now owned by Bega Cheese
Saputo Inc. is a Canadian dairy company based in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1954 by the Saputo family. It produces, markets, and distributes a wide array of dairy products, including cheese, fluid milk, extended shelf-life milk and cream products, cultured products and dairy ingredients and is one of the top ten dairy processors in the world. After growing in its home region of Quebec, it has expanded predominantly through mergers and acquisitions. Its products are sold in over 60 countries worldwide, operating in Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia and the United Kingdom, with about half of its revenues coming from its US operations. It operated in Wales and Germany from 2006 to 2013. It used to own the Canadian rights to Hostess Brands products.
Dairy Farmers Pty Ltd, originally established in 1900, whose parent company is Australian-owned Bega Cheese, is distributed mainly New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. The core products sold under Dairy Farmers brand are fresh milk and UHT "long-life" milk, as well as various other dairy snacks. It supplies products to local and international markets such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Bega Dairy & Drinks is a subsidiary of Australian diversified food company Bega Cheese, having been purchased from the Japanese company Kirin in November 2020. While owned by Kirin, it was known as Lion Dairy & Drinks.
Borden, Inc., was an American producer of food and beverage products, consumer products, and industrial products. At one time, the company was the largest U.S. producer of dairy and pasta products. Its food division, Borden Foods, was based in Columbus, Ohio, and focused primarily on pasta and pasta sauces, bakery products, snacks, processed cheese, jams and jellies, and ice cream. It was best known for its Borden Ice Cream, Meadow Gold milk, Creamette pasta, and Borden Condensed Milk brands. Its consumer products and industrial segment marketed wallpaper, adhesives, plastics and resins. By 1993, sales of food products accounted for 67 percent of its revenue. It was also known for its Elmer's and Krazy Glue brands.
Arnott's Biscuits Limited is Australia's largest producer of biscuits and the second-largest supplier of snack food. Founded in 1865, it is a subsidiary of KKR.
Fred Walker was an Australian businessman and founder of Fred Walker & Co. and the Fred Walker Company in Melbourne. He also set up Kraft Walker Cheese Co. in partnership with American businessman James L. Kraft in 1926, in order to market Kraft's patented method of processing cheese.
Murray Goulburn Co-operative Co. Limited was a dairy-processing co-operative corporation. In 2018, following financial difficulties and difficulties with suppliers over sustainable prices, the business assets were sold to Saputo Inc, a publicly-listed Canadian dairy company and later the trading name of the business was changed to AG Warehouse. The co-operative was placed into liquidation in 2020.
Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA.
Bega Cheese is an Australian diversified food company with manufacturing sites in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. Founded as an agricultural cooperative in the town of Bega, New South Wales by their dairy suppliers, it became a public company in 2011 when it listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Close to half of shares publicly traded are still held by Bega's farmer-suppliers. It is currently one of the largest companies in the dairy sector in Australia, with a FY2018 base milk supply of approximately 750 million litres.
The Cheese World Museum is part of the Allansford Cheese World Tourist complex, located in Allansford, Victoria. The museum contains objects and exhibits related to the farming industry and the history of Australia's dairy industry, including cheese and butter making implements.
Edward William Coon was an American produce merchant and cheesemaker, who patented a cheese-ripening process that eschewed pasteurization, instead retaining the live bacteria to produce a cheese that was said to be more easily digested and have a more attractive flavor. His cheese-making process and name were drawn into the media spotlight in the wake of a controversy surrounding the name of the Australian Coon cheese.
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