Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery will make its Minnesota State Fair debut this summer, selling fresh cheese curds at the St. Paul fairgrounds for the first time as part of its sponsorship of the event's Food Building. The fair runs August 27 through September 7, 2026.
The Fair Partnership
The Ellsworth, Wisconsin cooperative has built its reputation around fresh cheese curds — a product with deep roots in Midwest dairy culture and growing traction in foodservice channels. Sponsoring the Food Building at one of the country's largest and most-attended state fairs gives the creamery direct access to a massive consumer audience over nearly two weeks, a format that has become an increasingly valuable proving ground for regional food brands looking to scale recognition beyond their home markets.
For operators and food-and-beverage buyers, the fair circuit represents a live-market testing environment unlike any other: high foot traffic, impulse-driven purchasing, and concentrated media attention. Cheese curds in particular have seen sustained menu interest in restaurant and bar concepts across the Upper Midwest, often appearing as appetizers, bar snacks, or limited-time offerings that drive trial.
What It Means for the Industry
Ellsworth's move signals continued confidence in fresh dairy as a consumer-facing product category, even as specialty and artisan cheese segments navigate shifting retail and foodservice dynamics. Cheese curds — prized for their squeaky texture when fresh — have a narrow shelf window, which makes large-event sales formats like state fairs a logical distribution vehicle for cooperatives that produce at scale.
The Minnesota State Fair draws well over a million visitors annually, making it one of the highest-attended fairs in the United States by total attendance. For a cooperative creamery, that kind of reach compresses months of retail sampling into a single, high-intensity consumer touchpoint. The Food Building sponsorship also positions Ellsworth alongside other established regional food producers, lending the brand additional credibility in a new market.
As dairy and specialty cheese trends continue to evolve, regional cooperatives are finding that experiential retail — whether at fairs, farmers markets, or branded pop-ups — can meaningfully move the needle on brand awareness outside traditional grocery or foodservice distribution. Ellsworth's Fair debut is a textbook example of that strategy applied at scale, backed by a product with an established cult following among cheese curd enthusiasts across Wisconsin and beyond.
For foodservice operators sourcing locally or regionally produced dairy, the Creamery's expanded presence in Minnesota may also signal broader distribution ambitions in the Twin Cities market going forward.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
