Rockville, MN—With a new plant and a new brand, Stickney Hill Dairy here is realizing its longtime goal to take its goat cheese nationwide.

Stickney Hill is well known for its award-winning chevre, recently sweeping the Sweet Flavored Soft Cheese category at the 2018 American Dairy Goat Product Association’s (ADGA) Cheese Competition with its Cranberry Cinnamon, Honey and Pumpkin Chevre entries, respectively.

Stickney’s new plant, which was completed in 2016, recently passed its second audit for Safe Quality Food (SQF) Level 3 certification.

The state-of-the-art 20,000- square-foot manufacturing facility is located on Highway 23 between Minneapolis and St. Cloud, MN.

Our vision to take our goat cheese national was realized with the new plant, said Frankie Lenzmeier, co-owner of Stickney Hill Dairy along with her husband, David Lenzmeier.

Humble Goats, Humble Folks

Established in 1999, the regionallynamed Stickney Hill Dairy took a similar tack when selecting a brand name for its new goat cheese.

“David and I were thinking about what would be a great name for cheese made in Rockville,” Frankie Lenzmeier said. “When we think of Rockville, we think of the residents of Rockville – how humble and kind they are. Hence, the Humble Goat.”

The company still makes cheese under its Stickney Hill brand, but its Humble Goat is a bit different with an exclusive, proprietary make.

It’s currently being sold to retail and foodservice customers along the East Coast, with national distribution launching in the West Coast and southern parts of the US.

Humble Goat Chevre and Feta are offered in four-ounce logs, oneounce medallion and a four-ounce medallion. Chevre flavors include Plain, Honey, Garlic & Herb, Peppercorn, Tomato Basil, Wild Blueberry, Cranberry and seasonal Pumpkin Spice, along with Humble Goat Chevre Crumbles.

Humble Goat Feta is sold as Plain and Greek Style Feta in Mediterranean Marinade – semi hard Greek style goat Feta in a sunflower oil marinade seasoned with a Mediterranean blend of herbs and spices.

Stickney Hill is also working on several new cheeses, slated for introduction in the coming year, including hard goat cheese and spreadable goat cheese varieties.

Cheese production has increased dramatically with construction of the new plant and launch of the new brand, with food safety and quality at the forefront of the expansion process.

“We’ve made a personal capital investment in our state-of-the art packaging equipment,” Lenzmeier said. “We’ve got a proprietary packaging system that we’re using, an incredible HVAC system with HEPA filters, and geothermal temperature- and humidity-control rooms.”

The Humble Goat is a labor of love for Lenzmeier and her team at Stickney Hill, and the excitement is reflected at their Rockville facility.

“The Humble Goat team, is just that – a team. We are pursuing a shared vision for growth and the team is excited for new pursuits on the horizon,” Frankie Lenzmeier said.

Regarding their vision for The Humble Goat, Lenzmeier explains, “We want the Humble Goat to appeal to the conscious consumer. We are committed to animal husbandry through our Happy Goat Program, our SQF 3 facility is one of only a small number of goat cheese facilities with this qualification, and we are family owned,” she said.

“With our competitive retail price point, we want to make the right food choice easy for consumers,” Lenzmeier continued.

I think goat cheese is popular amongst Millennials, children and families, and what makes our cheese special is where we’re located – right here in the heartland, Lenzmeier said.

“From the land of humble goats, and the land of humble people,” she continued.

For more details, visit www.humblegoat.com.