Food Business Review

Dutch Country Cheese

Tradition-Built Cheese Brand
Dutch Country Cheese

Growing up on an Old Order Amish farm in Lancaster County, Daniel Stoltzfus spent his early years tending fields, milking cows, and helping his family with daily chores. The rhythms of farm life shaped his work ethic and remained a lasting influence. Around age 20, Dan left the farm to work in construction before starting a construction company two years later. Yet he soon began to miss the work that kept him close to family, leading him to sell the business and start a dairy farm.

Once back in dairy farming, Dan began marketing dairy cattle, which eventually led him into cooperative milk marketing. In 1997, he joined a group of about 50 Amish and Mennonite farmers, and together they formed Lanco Pennland Cooperative to provide a more consistent market with improved milk value for member farmers.

Over time, that effort expanded beyond milk marketing when the co-op purchased a cheese plant in 2014. The expansion introduced a new challenge in finding profitable markets for the cheese being produced. In response, Dan launched the Dutch Country Cheese sales brand in 2018 to bring cooperative-produced cheese directly to local stores and markets, improving returns for member farmers.

“Our goal is to deliver true Dutch Country value in every product, ensuring customers, suppliers, and employees all benefit from the quality and care we put into our work,” says Dan, owner and founder.

The company operates within Lanco Pennland Cooperative’s cheese plant, marketing and selling cheese products to wholesale and retail markets. It offers a variety of cheeses with unique flavors through online channels, grocery outlets, farmers’ markets, produce stands, and local delivery. Five full-time employees manage daily operations, while seasonal holiday gift basket sales bring in 40 to 60 part-time workers.

Initially, the cheese distribution business focused primarily on wholesale accounts supplying local stores and area markets. In 2019, a holiday gift basket strategy was tested by combining assortments of cheese, cheese curds, meat sticks, and snacks. The approach was well received and repeated the following year, with sales doubling. Building on that momentum, Dutch Country Gift Baskets was launched in 2021 as an additional channel for moving cooperative-produced cheese into consumer markets. Orders continued increasing as more individuals and businesses began purchasing baskets for holidays and special occasions.

Nearly 4,000 gift baskets were sold in 2023, boosting demand for Dutch Country Cheese products. RTIC coolers were later used in gift baskets, along with alternative packaging for last-minute orders. With unexpected sales volume, the company revisited and improved storage, packing, and delivery systems while maintaining a strong focus on product quality and customer service. In January 2025, it partnered with The Brecknock Group, gaining additional systems, personnel, and business development support. As part of the partnership, the gift basket business was separated into a stand-alone company under the Dutch Country Family umbrella.

  • Our goal is to deliver true Dutch Country value in every product, ensuring customers, suppliers, and employees all benefit from the quality and care we put into our work.


Continued demand for cheese and gift baskets increased fulfillment and distribution needs. As a result, an 8,400-square-foot building was acquired, renovated, and fitted with a cooler. Even after settling into the facility, space again became limited due to anticipated growth, prompting plans for a large cooler addition to the former barn structure. Its open timber-frame design also created an opportunity to develop a more customer-friendly environment. Dan and his team are now planning a renovation featuring a café, an ice cream and pretzel shop, a coffee shop, an outlet store, indoor and outdoor seating, and a double-lane drive-thru.

Today, what began as a cooperative initiative to improve milk value for local farmers has grown into a locally recognized Top Cheese and Meat Product Dealer 2026. Dutch Country Cheese continues to focus on product quality, customer service, and cooperative growth through innovative marketing and efficient expansion while staying true to its Amish roots.

Deep Dive

The Real Test of a Cheese and Meat Dealer

A specialty cheese case can look promising at first glance, but the pressure usually appears in quieter ways when a few flavors linger longer than expected, freshness becomes harder to protect and a holiday rush arrives just as staff are already short on time and cooler space. For retailers, farm markets, produce stands and gift buyers, the dealer choice is not simply about adding another supplier. It is about finding a source that can keep appeal and handling discipline in balance, while still making the products easy to sell. What begins as a way to create customer interest can quietly become a margin problem when cheese and meat assortments are not guided by real demand. A good dealer offers enough variety to keep regular customers interested without pushing stores into inventory they cannot move. Cheddars, curds, smoked cheeses and meat sticks can all bring steady traffic, but only when availability, freshness and reorder timing are managed with care. Specialty retailers receive product in tight windows, with little room in the cooler and even less spare labor, so the dealer’s reliability shows up first in fulfillment. They cannot afford deliveries that need extra sorting, products that raise temperature concerns or communication that arrives after the problem has already reached the customer. Packing, shipment planning, local delivery where practical and clear account support are not background details. They are part of the product experience. Cheese and meat products now move through seasonal displays, employee appreciation programs, online orders and customized baskets. This helps in gifting, opening useful revenue, but it also puts pressure on the backroom as dealer has to manage daily replenishment and seasonal spikes without letting one disrupt the other. Custom presentation helps only when the product range and packing process remain controlled. Price still has to make sense once the order leaves the page and enters the store’s real cost structure as specialty appeal may help a product earn attention, but it does not absorb freight, labor, shrink or spoilage when margins are already tight. Buyers need value they can recognize and a dealer model that fits how they actually purchase, whether the need is steady replenishment for a local store, a farmers market order, grocery supply or a larger holiday program. The stronger dealer is usually the one that has already worked through capacity pressure, expanded before service quality was strained and kept its operations close to the practical demands of its customers. Dutch Country Cheese offers cheese and meat products connected to local dairy sourcing, wholesale distribution, local delivery, and gift basket offerings. Its range includes a variety of cheeses, cheese curds, meat sticks, and customized gift baskets. Recent facility expansion, cooler installation, additional support staff, and added business systems reflect the company’s focus on storage, packing, shipping, and delivery operations as sales volume increased. The company supplies local stores, grocery outlets, produce stands, farmers markets, business gift buyers, and direct customers through online orders and local delivery. ...Read more

Company :
Dutch Country Cheese

Management
Daniel Stoltzfus, Owner and Founder

Description
Dutch Country Cheese offers a range of handcrafted cheeses rooted in traditional dairy craftsmanship from Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County. The brand emphasizes quality ingredients, farm-fresh sourcing, and carefully developed flavors. Its products reach customers through retail partners, local markets, and direct distribution, with a focus on quality and regional food heritage.