Great Lakes Cheese is an award-winning, premier manufacturer and packager of natural and processed bulk, shredded, and sliced cheeses. As the nation’s leading natural cheese packager, Great Lakes Cheese serves grocery, club and super stores, as well as restaurant chains and foodservice distributors. The company has a national footprint with facilities in Ohio, New York, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin, and one under construction in Texas. Family- and employee-owned, Great Lakes Cheese celebrated their 60th year of business in 2018.
Great Lakes Cheese was founded by Swiss immigrant, Hans Epprecht, who began his store-door delivery business in 1958. Since then, Great Lakes Cheese has grown to a multi-billion dollar revenue company. The company remains privately owned by the Epprecht Family and over 4,000 dedicated employee-owners. In 1998, the Epprecht Family established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which gives all employee-owners a shared 20% stake in the company.