Kentucky Proud helps central Kentucky company launch retail line

By JIM TRAMMEL, Kentucky Agricultural News

Kentucky Proud helped Bluegrass Dairy and Food enter the retail market, according to company CEO Billy Joe Williams.

Bluegrass Dairy’s main product list consists of creamed, buttered, fluid or powdered dairy products sold to other food producers as added ingredients.

But when Bluegrass Dairy joined Kentucky Proud, it saw the possibility to start a retail line of cheeses bearing the Kentucky Proud logo.

 “We started with a line of cheddar cheese, selling to wholesalers,” Williams remembered. The line did so well that Kentucky Colby, Kentucky Monterey Jack, and Romano and Parmesan cheeses soon followed. Williams said the Kentucky Proud logo helps promote sale of the cheeses in Kentucky.

Bluegrass Dairy cheeses are available in Louisville and Lexington retail outlets, plus an organic line sold at Whole Foods, Williams said.

The Kentucky Proud logo also adds allure to the company’s line of corporate and Web site gifts, Williams said. Bluegrass Dairy provides a turn-key gift shipping service, working from a company’s mailing list, adding the gift cards and handling the delivery, Williams said.

The Kosher News, a Web site serving the Kosher Today community of food professionals, reported that Bluegrass Dairy & Food won first place gold at a cheese competition held during last year’s Kentucky State Fair for its Natural Cheddar (Wilderness Trails brand) and its Natural Gouda (Bluegrass Dairy & Food brand).The kosher-certified cheeses won what the Web site said may be considered “the Kentucky Derby of cheese.”

Bluegrass Dairy’s milk is purchased through brokers from producers primarily in Barren, Monroe and Metcalfe counties, Williams said. He estimated that approximately 60 percent of the milk processed into Bluegrass Dairy’s products originates from Kentucky.

Bluegrass Dairy and Food has locations in Springfield and Glasgow. For more information about the company, go to http://www.bluegrassdairy.com.

Kentucky Proud is the Commonwealth’s official farm marketing program. It is administered by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. More than 1,500 producers, processors, retailers, restaurants, farmers’ markets and Kentucky state parks are members of Kentucky Proud. To find out more about Kentucky Proud, go to www.kyproud.com.