The Quebec cheese brand OKA, with a history spanning more than 130 years in the province, is being sold to the French group Lactalis, one of the world’s largest players in the cheese industry.
Agropur, the Quebec co-operative that owned OKA until recently, is selling its fine cheese division.
According to Lactalis Canada’s news release, it will acquire two production facilities in Oka and Sainte-Hyacinthe, Que., and add around 400 employees to its 4,500 team across the country.
“We are committed to preserving the authenticity and quality of these award-winning brands,” Lactalis Group chairman Emmanuel Besnier wrote.
“This extends to being an active member of the Oka and St-Hyacinthe communities… and contributing meaningfully to the people and places that have shaped these beloved brands.”
Guillaume Bérubé, director of communications at Agropur, explained that though it wasn’t an “easy decision,” it was a “well-thought-out” one.
“We fully understand that this morning’s news might provoke some reactions, particularly regarding OKA cheese,” Bérubé said on Radio-Canada’s Tout un matin.
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But Bérubé said employees will keep their jobs. He also pointed out that Lactalis is well established in Canada and has strong expertise in the field of fine cheeses.
He added that the fine cheese market has become “very competitive” and that Agropur’s goal is to strengthen its competitiveness.
Bérubé noted that a shift toward proteins is underway in the industry and that the co-operative wishes to concentrate its efforts in this sector.
According to him, fine cheese production only accounted for two per cent of revenue and two per cent of the milk Agropur processed.
Created in 1893 by Brother Alphonse Juin, a French master cheesemaker who settled in a Trappist community in Oka, Que., OKA cheese played a major role in ensuring the survival of the financially struggling monks in this area, according to Histoire Québec and Fromages d’ici.
The cheese became an award-winning, semi-firm culinary staple famous for its fruity flavour and medium intensity. Its recipe was sold to Agropur in 1981.
