Swiss Emmental ‘show dairy’ to end cheese production

The Emmentaler Schaukäserei AG is a well-known location near Bern that produces Emmentaler AOP cheese and hosts visitors. Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

The Emmentaler Schaukäserei AG, which showcases the production of the famous Emmentaler AOP Swiss cheese with holes, is due to close its cheese-making facility in June at the site near Bern, partly because milk suppliers are running out.

The show dairy in Affoltern im Emmental announced on March 11 that the decision had been driven by the “pending need for investment in production facilities” and “structural changes in the market for Emmental cheese”. Up to 12 people will be laid off. The Bern-based Tamedia newspapers were the first to report on the job cuts.

According to Managing Director Frank Jantschik, milk costs have risen sharply in recent years. In addition, the company expects to lose up to half of its current milk supply in the coming years due to changes in its supplier structure.

Jantschik added that the producer of traditional Swiss Emmental is struggling with declining sales and comparatively high personnel costs. Furthermore, the Fribourg-based dairy group Cremo cancelled its purchase agreement with Emmentaler AOP at the end of April.

Cheese dairy attraction and restaurant to be retained

Apart from the production facilities, other areas of the show dairy site also require urgent modernisation.

Despite these changes, Jantschik said it will be important to keep the restaurant, the specialist cheese shop, and the visitor organisation at the site. Where possible, affected employees will be offered alternative roles within the company, he added.

Meanwhile, the existing production facilities at the visitor centre will be integrated into the “Königsweg”, a visitor experience designed to showcase the history and production of Emmental cheese. This attraction at the Affoltern im Emmental site has seen significant growth, welcoming over 32,000 visitors last year – its best result to date.

Translated from German using DeepL/amva/sb