Artisanal Cheese Is Here To Stay! Here Are India¡¯s 8 Best New Brands

Like all millennial Indian kids, I grew up eating cheese slices and spreadable cheese from basically one Indian brand¡ªAmul. That¡¯s the only choice we had. I went to college in the United States in 2008, and when I returned in 2015, I was surprised to see a dramatic transformation in the cheese market in India.

Traditionally, regional Indian cuisine has included local cheeses such as paneer or Bengali cheeses like chhena and bandel. In fact, prior to the 1990s, cheese consumption in the country was limited to the major cities and was primarily restricted to processed cheese products.

When did India become an artisanal cheese-consuming nation? And when did we evolve into people who host parties with charcuterie boards? In the past two decades, there has been a significant rise in the consumption of natural, artisanal cheeses in India. This trend has been driven by a number of factors, which include the rising availability of gourmet cheeses and the increasing exposure to international cuisines.

Eleftheria Cheese-Moony | Credit: Clothbound Cheddar

India is now one of the fastest-growing cheese markets in the world. Presently, there are hundreds of artisanal cheese brands in the country. Here¡¯s a curated guide to the eight best gourmet and artisanal cheese brands in the country.

Whether you¡¯re looking for soft cheeses such as mozzarella, burrata, and feta or aged variants like parmesan, cheddar, and gruy¨¨re, these brands will have something for you. Opt for their artisanal cheeses over commercially processed ones.

Meraki Artisan Cheese

Credit: Meraki Artisan Cheese

Located in Kolkata, Meraki was founded by cheesemaker Arpita Nag. The brand is managed and run by an all-woman team. Meraki¡¯s offerings are made from farm-fresh cow milk sourced from a certified organic cooperative, Sundarini Naturals, and are chemical- and preservative-free. Currently, the brand offers 25 varieties of fresh and aged cheese and is constantly experimenting with new variants. Highlights from their offerings include feta, mozzarella, burrata, ricotta, halloumi, camembert, charcoal-coated Valencay-style cheese, cheddar, and gouda. Moreover, Arpita Nag regularly conducts cheesemaking sessions and wine-and-cheese workshops in Kolkata.

Prices start at: ?330 for 150 gms; www.instagram.com/merakicheese

Eleftheria Cheese

Established by Mausam Jotwani Narang in 2015, this award-winning brand¡¯s mission is to make world-class cheeses in India using the finest quality indigenous ingredients. Eleftheria retails a variety of handcrafted fresh and aged artisanal cheeses, cultured butters, and a range of cheese platters and hampers. The brand¡¯s products are available for delivery in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, and Bengaluru. Eleftheria Cheese¡¯s products are also supplied to restaurants and hotels all over India. Their cheeses have won numerous awards, including a gold medal at the 2022 World Cheese Awards for their Moony clothbound cheddar. Eleftheria¡¯s brunost, a Norwegian-style whey cheese, French tomme-style cheese, burrata, brie, truffle burrata, and mozzarella cheeses are crowd favorites.

Prices start at: ?200 for 150 gms; eleftheriacheese.com

Nari & K¨¡ge

Credit: Nari Ka?ge

Nari & K¨¡ge is a fromagerie and delicatessen founded by Benjamin Armel from Toulouse, France, and Kathrina Salam (from Manipur, India). The brand started during the Covid lockdown and uses locally sourced A2 cow and organic goat milk to craft an array of unique types of cheese from around the world, including Queso Oaxaca from Mexico, Manchego from Spain, and Crottin from France. The Nari & K¨¡ge shop has a warm and welcoming ambiance, and its expert team is happy to educate patrons and help them choose the right cheese for their needs.

¡°We started with small batches for home. Then we started giving some to friends and friends of friends, etc.,¡± said the founders. ¡°That¡¯s how the idea of opening a fromagerie in Bengaluru was born. We started by selling our cheeses on Instagram with our production from home, and with a great response from Bangaloreans, we decided to scale up and have a proper production place with a build-from-scratch traditional cheese cave.¡±

Prices start at: ?150 for 200 gms; www.instagram.com/nariandkage

K?se

K?se Cheese is an artisanal cheese brand based in Chennai, India. It was founded in 2016 by Anuradha Krishnamoorthy and Namrata Sundaresan. K?se Cheese is committed to using sustainable and ethical practices; they employ young women who are differently abled. Additionally, they use only ethically sourced dairy. Some of K?se¡¯s most well-loved cheese varieties include young cheddar, brined and matured for 8¨C12 weeks; lavender-infused cheddar, which is aged to almost 24 months; gouda with chilli and cumin; feta with garlic; and ricotta with cranberry and honey. The brand won a bronze medal at the World Cheese Awards in 2023 for its Lavender Fields Cheese. In addition, it recently collaborated with Fratelli Wines to craft a range of vineyard-inspired cheeses.

Prices start at: ?300 for 130 gms; www.kasecheese.com

Spotted Cow Fromagerie

Credit: Spotted Cow Fromagerie

Founded by Prateeksh Mehra in Mumbai, Spotted Cow Fromagerie is renowned for its delectable cheeses made with milk from single-source farms. The brand¡¯s consistently good quality is what sets it apart from other companies. We highly recommend their brie, camembert, mozzarella, burrata, and truffle-flavoured cheese offerings. In addition to their website, Spotted Cow Fromagerie¡¯s offerings are sold in gourmet stores in all major Indian metros.

Prices start at: ?300 for 130 gms; www.thespottedcow.in

Kodai Cheese

Kodai Cheese is one of the country¡¯s oldest, family-run cheesemaking businesses. The company was established in 1972 and is now one of the finest cheesemakers in India. Kodai Cheese is located in the foothills of Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, and is well-known for its high-quality, natural cheeses for the Indian palate. The brand¡¯s aim is to offer value-added, quality-based natural cow and goat milk cheese varieties that are healthy and nutritious. Their cheeses have 40¨C50% higher nutrition than industry averages. Kodai Cheese¡¯s expert team crafts a range of cheeses, including cheddar, gouda, edam, mozzarella, and paneer. It also retails a variety of flavoured cheeses, such as cumin gouda, garlic cheddar, and green chilli cheese. This brand is instrumental in introducing artisanal cheese to a larger Indian audience.

Prices start at: ?375 for 200 gms; www.kodaicheese.com

Kumaoni Blessings

Credit: Kumaoni Blessings

Kumaoni Blessings is a New Delhi-based brand that offers natural food products and artisanal cheese. The brand's bestsellers include the natural rind cheese, the smoked paprika-crusted cheese, and the pepper-crusted cheese. ¡°The business evolved after numerous fly fishing trips with common friends¡ªfellow Indians and expats in Himachal. We embarked on this journey in 2018 and received formal training in Torino, Italy,¡± said Amit Mital, founder of Kumaoni Blessings.

Prices start at: ?442 for 150 gms; www.kumaoniblessings.com

Vallombrosa Cheese Shop

Vallombrosa is a church-run shop in Bengaluru. It sells handmade Italian cheeses such as mozzarella, burrata, mascarpone, and pecorino. The store is run by the Vallombrosan Benedictine Congregation, a Catholic religious order. The monks of Vallombrosa have been making cheese using fresh buffalo milk for more than 15 years. Vallombrosa is our go-to for good-quality, handmade Italian cheese. Their cheeses are available in major Indian cities via the website. Try Vallombrosa¡¯s La Treccia Mozzarella, and thank us later.

Prices start at: ?350 for 250 gms; vallombrosacheese.in