Lactalis USA Wins 19 Medals for Dairy Expertise at 2026 United States Championship Cheese Contest
April 13, 2026 | 10 min to read
Premier Lactalis brands and dairy ingredients win honors, including: Président®, Kraft® Natural Cheese, Black Diamond®, Karoun®, ARZ®, Gopi®, siggi’s® and Stonyfield Organic®
CHICAGO — Lactalis USA recently won 19 medals across gold, silver and bronze categories for dairy production expertise at the 2026 World Championship Cheese Contest, the largest technical dairy products evaluation in the world.
The company received five gold medals including for Président Rondelé Mango Habanero spreadable cheese, Kraft Grated Parmesan, Karoun Labne Tzatziki, Le Châtelain Brie and Laktein WPC80, a high-quality, fast-digesting protein powder containing at least 80 percent protein designed for sports nutrition and food manufacturing.
“We are honored to be recognized for our tasty, high‑quality lineup of iconic cheeses as well as our dairy ingredients,” said Bill Cassidy, chief executive officer, cheese divisions, Lactalis USA. “This kind of recognition from the cheese‑making community really speaks to the hard work and passion our Lactalis team brings every day to creating delicious products that inspire and delight our customers and consumers.”
The contest is the world’s largest technical dairy product competition for cheese, butter, yogurt and dry dairy ingredients. A team of expert judges spanning five continents assessed each entry based on rigorous technical standards across 150 classes.
About Lactalis USA
Lactalis USA is committed to enriching lives by producing nutritious and great-tasting dairy products. The company offers an unrivaled house of beloved dairy brands in the United States including Galbani® Italian cheeses, Président® specialty cheeses and gourmet butters, Kraft® brands in natural and grated cheeses, Breakstone’s® cottage cheese, ricotta and sour cream, Cracker Barrel® cheese, Black Diamond® cheddar cheese, Parmalat® milk, , yogurt brands such as siggi’s, Stonyfield Organic®, Brown Cow™, Green Mountain Creamery®, Mountain High®, Yoplait®, Go-Gurt®, :ratio®, Oui® and Karoun®, Gopi®, Arz® and other brands in the ethnic channel. The following registered trademarks are used under license: Yoplait® Go-Gurt®, and Oui® owned by Yoplait Marques SNC, and KRAFT® owned by Kraft Foods.
In the United States, the company has approximately 5,000 employees, with 13 manufacturing facilities located in 9 states, and corporate offices in New York City, San Fernando, Calif., Chicago, Ill., Minneapolis, Minn., Buffalo, N.Y. and Bedford, N.H. Lactalis USA is part of Lactalis Group, the world’s leading dairy company, a French family business founded in 1933 in Laval, France.
For more information about Lactalis USA’s divisions, visit www.lactalisamericangroup.com, www.lactalisheritagedairy.com, www.lactalisyogurtusa.com, www.midwestyogurt.com and www.karouncheese.com. Follow Lactalis USA on Instagram and like us on Facebook.