Member Spotlight
Every post the Federation has filed under Member Spotlight.
The buyer who started tasting blind
A retail buyer got tired of picking favorites by producer name. This spring she started tasting every submission blind, and it changed what makes it onto her shelf.
Read postThe member who calls the new ones
One longtime member spends an hour most weeks calling brand-new members before they've been asked to renew anything, just to see how the first month is going.
Read postThe head cheesemaker reading Standards drafts
Elena Rodriguez has spent seven years as head cheesemaker at a sheep-milk creamery and this year joined our Standards Committee. We asked what pulled her toward the paperwork…
Read postThe cave the second hire runs
A composite look at a common path in our directory: the second hire who started on the packing line and now owns the cave logs, one humidity reading…
Read postThe distributor planning six weeks out
A regional distributor member told us her ordering horizon has doubled this year. Here's what's behind that shift, and what it means for the members she supplies.
Read postMember spotlight: thirteen years of cold calls
One of our longest-tenured sales members has spent thirteen years selling specialty cheese into accounts that don't stay sold on their own. His advice for newer reps is…
Read postThe cheesemaker who timed her own batches
A small farmstead maker realized her make sheet had never been checked against a clock. What she found once she started timing herself changed how she schedules her…
Read postThe apprentice entering her first competition
A second-year apprentice at a small farmstead creamery is entering the Washed Rind category for the first time this year, and second-guessing every wheel she's set aside for…
Read postThe buyer who checks the directory first
One of our members buys specialty cheese for a regional retail chain rather than making it. We asked what federation membership actually does for someone on the sourcing…
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