The Epiim story

Epiim is owned by over a hundred local dairy farmers, and is one of the largest cheese and butter producers in Estonia. Various locations for Epiim’s dairies date back as early as the beginning of the twentieth century. The first of them was opened in Põltsamaa in 1910, while the second opened in Järva-Jaani in 1911. Today, over 120,000 tons of pure local raw milk is used every year to produce cheese, butter, and milk powder in Epiim’s dairy and creamery.

The letter ‘e’ in our name symbolises Estonian milk, which we use to introduce the Estonian dairy industry to all cheese lovers in Estonia, as well as those who live abroad. Pure Estonian nature, long-standing traditions, and a climatically-favourable geographic location in this strong agricultural area have all combined to create historically good conditions for successful milk processing. This principle is also followed today.

Estonian cheese exporter

Our goal is to increase the value of, and to offer the best marketing for, the raw materials used by all of the dairy farmers who are part of our cooperative efforts by producing and distributing quality dairy products both to local markets as well as abroad. Epiim is the largest exporter of Estonian cheese, and has established several decades of great cooperation with the largest cheese-producing countries in the European Union, such as Italy and Switzerland. Epiim has also taken Estonian cheese to markets in Asia, Africa, and also America. The quality of our dairies has been acknowledged by our being awarded the BRC Food Safety certificate, and Halal and Kosher certificates of conformity.

Food industry developer

Epiim is a company that has orientated itself towards the healthy development of the food industry and innovation within that industry. Since 2005, Epiim has been partner at the Bio-Competence Centre of Healthy Dairy Products LLC, in which the centre cooperates with universities and scientists who are working in various fields of food functionality and in clinical trials. In cooperation with the Bio-Competence Centre of Healthy Dairy Products LLC, we have developed Südamejuust Harmony™, which comprises Lactobacillus plantarum TENSIA® – which helps to maintain a healthy heart by lowering blood pressure that is around the high-to-normal level – and demineralised whey powder (D90) which, with its low mineral content, is suitable as a food supplement for infants.

Modern milk powder production

Between 2011 and 2013, Epiim’s Järva-Jaani milk powder industry went through a complete innovation process. During summer 2013, we started working with the most modern and environmentally-clean spray drain in Järva-Jaani, which helps to produce whey, skimmed milk, and milk powders, bulk packaged and small packaged butter, and also frozen cream. Every year we produce 8,000 tons of milk powders and 3,000 tons of high quality 82% Eesti butter in Järva-Jaani.

The story of Epiim cheese

Epiim butter and cheeses are produced using pure, milk, which is collected from hundreds of dairy farms. Thanks to this, you can rest assured that the product that ends up on your dinner table is of the highest quality, and that it also gives something back towards the development of rural life. Epiim’s dairy at Põltsamaa and its creamery at Järva-Jaani have produced traditional butter and cheeses from as early as 1910. In order to offer an unforgettable experience in flavour both to adults and young cheese lovers, as well as for the reason of finding new ways of utilising Estonian cheese in various dishes, Epiim offers a variety of cheeses of different flavours and with varying degrees of maturity in block, sliced, and grated forms. For example, the dairy at Põltsamaa produces traditional medium-hard cheeses, such as Edam, Tilsit, Gouda, and those perennial favourites in the food industry, Baski and Cagliata. Cheeses that deserve a special mention are the Maasdam-style ‘Epiim Special’ cheese, along with the rather more functional cheese, Harmony™. The latter contains Lactobacillus plantarum TENSIA®, which helps to maintain a healthy heart by lowering blood pressure that’s around the high-to-normal level. All together, Põltsamaa’s dairy produces close to 10,000 tons of cheese every year. Our cheese industry also has a special cheese smoking department, in which all of our hand-made smoked and melted cheeses, our processed spreadable cheeses, and our cheese snacks are made. The reason for our smoked cheeses having a beautiful golden yellow colour, an enjoyable aroma, and a tangy flavour, is that we only use locally-grown natural alder chips in smoking our cheeses. Epiim products are easily recognisable by the yellow ‘cheese flower’ logo The yellow flower, which was inspired by a sliced cheese ball, is representative of Estonia’s nature, its rural life, and locally-sourced, clean milk, which is used to produce all of our butter and cheeses.

Our values

Epiim is one of the largest cheese and butter producers and exporters in Estonia.

The owners of Epiim are Estonians – amounting to over a hundred cooperative members who stand for sustainability and durability in local rural life through their dairy farming and hard work.

We value consistency and tradition, but we also contribute towards scientific research and innovation.

We create new opportunities for Estonian cheese and also Estonian agriculture on a worldwide basis.

By being a socially responsible company, we also support music and cultural events, as well as projects that involve children and young people.

Procurements