About us
With Terroir Suisse, we created a platform in 2010 to tell the story of how Switzerland has become one of the world’s leading producers of high-quality cheese. We aimed to highlight what makes a difference and provide facts about some of their most famous varieties, as well as a selection of the myriad other cheeses the country produces.
Now, after more than 12 years of operation, we can only affirm that our mission is more important than ever—to create access and added value for those of us who love Swiss culinary culture. En Guete.
How it all began
In 1991, I moved down to Switzerland and ended up in the German-speaking part, where a quite challenging local dialect was spoken; Swiss German or “schwiiizerdütsch.” In 1995, I got married and had children with a true Swiss from Kanton Uri, Sabine Hodel. It was an adventure to gain insight into a completely different culture and embrace its people. I was well-received and had the chance to experience Switzerland from an insider’s perspective. After several years, first at IKEA and then as a self-employed entrepreneur in the bookbinding industry with Ordning & Reda and after that Bookbinders Design, I started Terroir Suisse in 2010 as a cultural “bridge” between the two countries, languages, and their traditions.
Friends & partners
A number of individuals and organizations have played a crucial role throughout the journey:
- Sabine Ekberg, who helped define our role and mission.
- Fanny Stenberg, whose input on the graphic and conceptual aspects has been decisive.
- Joachim Petterson at Honey Design Stockholm, who created our logo, graphic profile, and our entire brand identity—concepts, labels, website, activities, store materials, merchandise, and everything else. Without Jocke and his often brilliant ideas and strategic input, Terroir Suisse would not have had the reach and success we enjoy today. You can see more of his excellent work at http://honeydesign.se.
- Skilled illustrator SaraMara has been highly involved in decorating some of our products, such as alps, animals, fruits, plants, and especially William Tell on our Swiss farmer cheese. Feel free to visit her website at http://sara-mara.se.
- Fantastic photographers such as Pål Allan, Roland Persson, Stefan Wettainen, Bastien Artigas, Robert Ekblom, and others.
- Rolf Beeler, the Swiss cheese pope, whose influence cannot be overstated.
- Dominik Flammer, Swiss food journalist and author, whose books have put Switzerland on the map as a culinary center in Europe.
- All those working in retail who have helped us with important advice and deeds, becoming part of our circle of friends, including Jörgen Larsson at Sabis Fältöversten, Anders Karlsson at Garpes, Thomas Karlsson at Arla Unika, Fredrik Mathiessen at the former ICA Kvantum Gränby Centrum, Tobias Ljung at ICA Supermarket Åre, Chatrin Jakob from Flowers & Brie, and many more.
A big thank you to all of you; without you, there would be no Terroir Suisse