Since 1909, the farmer owners of Tillamook have been committed to providing families with the most consistent, best-tasting, highest-quality dairy products made in the most natural way possible. This is the promise Tillamook strives to meet each and every day with every product that bears our name. Living this promise is something that every Tillamook farmer-owner, employee and our partners take very seriously, because what we do is more than a profession, it’s personal. We understand the responsibility that comes with being a dairy brand that is at the center of memories, meals and family traditions.

The tradition started in 1909, when several small creameries throughout the Tillamook Valley united to form a cooperative, the Tillamook County Creamery Association, or what is most commonly known today as Tillamook. The farmer-owners knew that by working towards common goals they could make the highest-quality, best-tasting dairy products.

With the help of a cheesemaker named Peter McIntosh, the original Tillamook cheddar recipe was created and perfected. Now, 103 years since its founding, we are still a farmer-owned cooperative, Tillamook is still the home and headquarters of the company, and we are still using the same cheddar recipe crafted by Peter McIntosh all those years ago.

Times change, but not our brand promise

Tillamook has been a part of me for over 50 years, and not just because I’ve worked here for 18 of those years. I was born and raised in Oregon eating Tillamook products. I have enjoyed dozens of road trips to the Oregon coast to visit the factory with my kids and grandkids, hosted countless family meals that include the company’s products, and neighborhood block parties centered on our ice cream.

I followed my father’s footsteps in the grocery industry and during my time at Tillamook have seen first-hand how we have expanded into new categories, gained new distribution and released new products. Today, Tillamook offers a variety of cheese, ice cream, yogurt, sour cream and butter products. With the same thought and care stemming from its inception over 100 years ago, and as the company grows, we still maintain our level of commitment to providing consumers with the most consistent, best-tasting, and highest-quality products made in the most natural way possible. We understand, because like our consumers, we are a family.

It starts at the farm, naturally

The best-tasting dairy products begin with high-quality milk, which comes from healthy cows cared for by devoted farmers. Our dairy products are made with milk from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones. The milk has the optimal levels of butterfat and protein that lend itself to cheese that is smooth and ice cream that is rich and creamy. From there we take the time to age our cheddars naturally.

Cheddars are formed into 40-pound blocks, sealed and sent to a warehouse for aging. Depending on the desired sharpness, the cheese stays in the warehouse anywhere from two months to three years. By naturally aging our cheeses, our products develop the unique flavor characteristics that set us apart from the competition, including honors such as our win for World’s Best Medium Cheddar Cheese in 2010 at the World Championship Cheese Contest.

A new light yogurt

Tillamook yogurt, both low-fat and the new line of light yogurt, are made with no artificial flavors, no artificial sweeteners, no artificial colors, no high-fructose corn syrup and no artificial growth hormones. Our Light Yogurt, which just hit the market this year, is the first light yogurt on the market that is naturally sweetened with Truvia sweetener. It took us several years of research and development, countless hours in meetings and samplings, and a dedicated team to find the perfect combination of natural sweeteners that would allow us to make a product we could feel good about putting the Tillamook seal on.

Because we care, and know how important our role is in consumer’s lives, we are involved at the farm and in the factory so that when our products hit consumers’ tables, they bring smiles to their faces. It’s our promise and we’re sticking to it.