Ontario Cheese Maker Wins Young Entrepreneur Award

Jun 19, 2014

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

An Ontario cheese maker, Shep Ysselstein, from Woodstock, Ont., won $100, 000 in the 2014 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award contest.

The 31 year old entrepreneur is the owner of Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese. The cheese maker pitched an idea to create a 2,000 square-foot climate controlled curing and aging extension on his existing facility. The additional space will allow Ysselstein to double his production capacity to make about 60,000 kilograms of cheese on an annual basis.

Yseelstein says that with an expanded facility, there will also be job opportunities. Currently, he employs three staff, but plans to hire four more workers in the future. In addition to increasing capacity, the young entrepreneur has his sights set on selling his cheese nationwide, right now he is only licensed to sell cheese in Ontario.

Winners are chosen based on committee input and public votes. Ysselstein attributes the win to his community, adding that Woodstock is supportive. The award is open to Canadian entrepreneurs between 18 and 35.

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