USA

Jarlsberg production:

In order to satisfy the demand for Jarlsberg in the North American market, Jarlsberg is produced on license at Alpine Cheese in Ohio. The special Jarlsberg bacterial culture is sent to Ohio from Norway and the cheese produced has the same high quality as the cheese produced in Norway.

History

In 1965, TINEs export director packed a Jarlsberg cheese into his case and set off for New York. Many delicatessen companies were more than happy to add the exciting cheese from Europe to their range as Jarlsberg cheese "was the biggest innovation in cheese since the First World War - and was set to become the Rolls Royce of cheese".

An advantage of Jarlsberg was the size. As it is much smaller than the traditional Swiss cheeses, which were so large that they had to be either rolled into the shop or lifted by machine, Jarlsberg cheese could easily be carried into the shop and put onto a shelf or plate. Jarlsberg® is manufactured in 22 pound wheels and 12 pound loaf forms and is made from pasteurized cow's milk.

Jarlsberg Lite a reduced fat version of Classic Jarlsberg®, was introduced into the US in 1990 and has become the #1 brand of imported, reduced fat cheese in the US and the #2 brand of reduced fat cheese in U.S.consumer awareness, with a high positive consumer taste preference estimated to be over 80%.

TINE's subsidiary Norseland Inc. is responsible for the distribution, sales and marketing of TINE products in North America.