Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/147468
continued Renard's produces award-winning cheeses and has been family owned for three generations. Pictured is Chris Renard (standing) and Gary, Howard and Brian Renard (left to right). Gary Renard, Chris's father, retired three years ago. Howard is the founder of the company, and Brian operates the cheesemaking plant. 24 | Insight • A u g u s t 2 013 About Renard's Cheese Opened: 1961 Employees: 29 full-time, year-round plus 13 summer employees Products: Dozens of types of cheese, Door County wines, souvenirs, crafts Growth: Tripled since 2010 to estimated $3 million in 2013. Ann says three years is a realistic timeline for another building expansion at the store, but concedes the company may have to do it sooner because they're running out of space already. "But we'll try to make do with what we have and maybe run a second shift first," Ann says. Expanding business, products n an area where inventory is kept, Ann points out a new pizza sealer, a type of wrapping contraption. "We did a fundraiser from one of our softball teams and we made pizzas in the factory," Ann says. "So then courtesy of renard's Cheese But as you're browsing through the cheddars and the cow souvenirs, you realize that the 52-year-old family-owned business is also very much about the future. In fact, you might see the company growing right before your eyes. It's like Renard's has taken on life similar to the cheese it produces, always curing, getting better. Ann and Chris Renard bought the little store on Highway DK just south of Sturgeon Bay three years ago from his parents, Gary and Bonnie Renard. Last year, Ann and Chris built a new store next door and turned the old store into a processing and packaging facility. The new store includes a deli and a wide variety of Door County and Wisconsin souvenirs. It has four times the space as the old store, a much larger parking lot and an outdoor patio with playground. "We decided instead of making Renard's Cheese just a place to stop in to, Ann and I made it our goal to make it a destination," as a cheese and gift store, Chris says. "We're the first one you see coming into the county, and we're the last one coming out of the county." The Renards hired a full-time marketing director last year, added new flavored cheeses and began a promotional campaign. In three years, they've gone from six full-time employees to 29, plus another 13 seasonal. Their efforts are paying off. Since 2010, annual revenue has tripled. Renard's Cheese was named the Door County Economic Development Corporation's 2012 Industry of the Year. Companies like Renard's "are part of the fabric of the dairy industry, and certainly of Wisconsin," says Patrick Geoghegan, senior vice president of corporate communications for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. "When visitors come to our state, particularly to Door County, they cherish visits to companies like Renard's," Geoghegan says. "It's one of those must-stops on people's itineraries." The curds seem to be the thing to get, he says. "All it takes is one, and you're a fan." While Chris spends much of his time at the Highway S cheese processing plant he owns with his uncle Brian Renard (Brian and his wife, Tina, own the store at that location), Ann focuses on the new store management. "We'll expand again, definitely," Ann says. "It's just a matter of when. What we don't want to do is expand too fast. We're on track for this year's growth to be three times as much as last year. Which will be all right, because we have so many newly trained staff members, but in order to keep quality you have to be really careful how fast you grow." w w w. i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m