To raise awareness in the United States of the origins of French chevre, a consortium of French producers has launched a campaign called "The Original Chevre."
The cheesemakers say that with many goat cheeses marketed to look like French chevre – it is difficult to know what a cheese's origin is, unless one checks the back label.
The "Original Chevre" campaign includes cheese tastings in major cities throughout the United States.
The campaign is funded by ANICAP (Association Nationale Interprofessionelle Caprine), the government-recognized body established in 1983 to bring together French goat's milk producers and processors, and FranceAgriMer, a national body supervised by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Teuwen One Image is the PR agency of record, in partnership with Euroconsultants.
The word "chevre" originates in France, where it translates to "goat." Farmers who used fresh goat's milk to make cheese have referred to it as chevre for centuries. France is the No. 1 producer in the world of pure goat's milk cheese. It comes in a large variety of textures and shapes: from logs, to crottins, to cylinders and pyramids. While lush texture, rich flavors and tang are signatures of French chevre, each one has a unique identity and story.
Chevre is primarily made in eight regions across the French countryside located South of the Loire River: Poitou-Charentes, Loire Valley, Burgundy, Rhone-Alps, Provence-Cote d'Azur, Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrenees and Aquitaine.