MAFFRA Cheese Company is expanding into the soft cheese market, with Coles supermarket committing to stocking blue vein and white mould varieties.
The Today Show filmed its weather segment with weather presenter Emma Freedman on site on Thursday morning, with many staff from Sale’s Coles supermarket on hand for the occasion.
Maffra Cheese Company master cheese maker Ferial Zekiman said the expansion into the soft cheese market, which is expected to create several jobs at the company, said it could not have been done without the support of the multi-national supermarket.
“It’s been phenomenal, we couldn’t have done it without (them),” she said.
“We have a cheddar plant, but nothing in soft cheese until the end of the year.
“Coles has committed to a blue vein and they are looking at a white mould.
“We are getting more equipment in to speed up the volumes.”
Having manufactured cheese for about 30 years, Maffra Cheese is one of the few remaining Australian-owned pioneering specialty cheese makers, with the company spending $250,000 out of its own pocket to establish a soft cheese plant.
Assisted by a contribution of $150,000 from the state government’s Regional Growth Fund, the expansion is expected to create 15 new jobs and secure another 30 at Maffra Cheese, with an estimated $750,000 in wages expected to be injected into the Maffra region each year.
The project will involve expansion of existing facilities and investment in new specialised manufacturing plant and equipment.
It will also include upgrading on-site infrastructure, additional cheese maturing space, and the reconfiguring of existing facilities to provide additional cheese cutting and packaging space.
