Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) collected three gold medals at the International Cheese and Dairy Awards, an annual competition in Stafford, United Kingdom, that drew more than 5,500 entries in its 128th year. The Oregon cooperative earned top honors in three separate cream-cheese divisions.
Tillamook Very Veggie Farmstyle Cream Cheese Spread won Best USA Cheese in the soft and semi-soft category. The Jalapeno Honey Farmstyle Cream Cheese Spread secured Best USA Cheese in the additives class, which covers products that incorporate additional flavor ingredients. Tillamook Original Farmstyle Cream Cheese Spread topped the open cheese-spread category, prevailing over both flavored and unflavored rivals. The awards follow the company’s prior success at the 2024 edition of the same event.
TCCA’s director of product excellence, Jill Allen, attributed the results to the cooperative’s ongoing focus on product formulation and manufacturing consistency. The cream-cheese line, introduced nationally in 2023, uses the brand’s proprietary cultures and contains no artificial preservatives. Tillamook operates a farmer-owned model and processes milk from member dairies at facilities in Tillamook and Boardman, Oregon.
The International Cheese and Dairy Awards, founded in 1897, rank entries through blind evaluations by industry judges, who assess texture, flavor, aroma, and overall quality. Winning entries often gain expanded retail visibility in both domestic and export markets. TCCA plans to feature the awards in upcoming point-of-sale materials and digital marketing campaigns as it continues to expand distribution of its cream-cheese products.