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US cheese manufacturer Heartisan Foods has announced the acquisition of North Country Packaging. Heartisan Foods is using a $10 million credit line from private equity firm Ronin Equity Partner to finance the purchase. Formed in 2021 by Ronin, Heartisan was created through the acquisition and merger of three specialists in flavoured and smoked cheese – Red Apple Cheese, Barron County Cheese and the direct-to-consumer e-commerce business Cheese Brothers. Heartisan's range of flavoured and smoked cheeses can be found in over 12,000 retail locations across the US. North Country Packaging manufactures a range of gourmet cheese spreads. Its product line-up encompasses a wide variety, from tomato and sweet basil curds to habanero ghost pepper spreads. According to the company, the deal will triple Heartisan’s manufacturing facility, support the "fast-growing" Cheese Brothers brand and allow the business to launch new products across the cheese spreads and cheese curds categories, which will then support Heartisan’s growth in the cheese snack market. North Country’s co-founders, Kendall Goossen, who will be assuming a senior position at Heartisan, and his wife Maria, will continue to hold "a significant stake in the combined entity," said the group. Gene Graf, CEO of Heartisan, said: “We’ve known the Goossens and their colleagues at North Country for years, and we share the exact same vision. The added capacity comes at just the right time, given that we’re currently running our production facilities at full steam. With 32 different North Country cheese spreads and cheese curds to choose from, Heartisan’s customers now have a different flavour to enjoy every day of any month.” Kendall Goossen added: “This deal is the perfect way to accelerate growth, speed up innovation, and expand cutting-edge products at both companies”.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.