How do I find a creamery or cheese maker for sale in Canada?

A cheese maker is rarely listed under a single heading. The same business may appear as a creamery, a fromagerie, a cheese factory, a dairy processor, an artisan food producer or simply a food manufacturer. If you search for only one of those words, you will miss most of what is for sale. Start by deciding what you want: a small farmstead-style maker, a plant that supplies wholesale accounts, or a brand with its own shop.

Search under every name the business goes by

Try creamery, cheese plant, fromagerie artisanale, cheese making and dairy processing, in English and French. Then widen to food manufacturing and specialty food. Save each search so new postings reach you quickly. Many sales of small makers are quiet, so a listing may use a vague title and give detail only after you sign a confidentiality agreement.

Who hears about a sale first

Equipment suppliers, culture and packaging vendors, milk haulers, distributors and food brokers often know when a maker is tired or looking for a partner. Brokers who work with food producers are another route. Ask each one whom they act for, and read how do I find a cheese shop for sale if a retail counter interests you as well.

What a short listing should show

A useful listing says what rooms, machines and relationships come with the business. Ask for a description of the aging space, the vats and equipment, the brand and recipes that come with the sale, and the wholesale and retail accounts. Treat the milk supply arrangement as a fact to confirm, not an assumption. Check each answer against records, as described in what should I check before buying a seafood processing plant, which covers a similar food plant.

• Ask how the milk is supplied and whether that arrangement transfers.
• Ask which licences and inspections the plant holds, and who reviews them.
• Ask who makes the cheese and whether they will stay on.
• Ask which accounts supply the most sales.