Hilmar wins 9 medals at World Championship Cheese Contest
Hilmar, Calif.-Hilmar Cheese Company, Inc. proudly earned nine medals at the 2026 World Championship Cheese Contest Awards Banquet, including gold medals in both cheese and whey protein categories — a first in the company’s history. The awards were presented April 16, 2026, during CheeseExpo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The nine medals included three for cheese and six for whey protein ingredients, recognizing Hilmar’s commitment to quality across its diverse portfolio.
“We are honored to see the dedication of our teams recognized on a global stage,” said Greg Schlafer, President and CEO of Hilmar. “Earning top honors in both cheese and whey protein reflects the strength of our end-to-end capabilities, from our people and plants to our partnerships with customers and producers. These awards validate our focus on consistent quality, technical expertise, and innovative dairy solutions that help our customers succeed in the marketplace.”
Hilmar swept the Pepper Flavored Monterey Jack, Mild Heat category, earn-ing gold, silver and bronze for our Pepper Jack cheese produced in Dalhart, Texas. The award-winning cheese features jalapeño pep-per pieces evenly dis-tributed throughout, delivering balanced heat and consistent flavor in every bite.
In addition to its award-winning cheese, Hilmar’s whey pro-tein portfolio earned outstanding recogni-tion across multiple categories.
PROfunction Adapt won gold and bronze medals in the Whey Protein Isolate 90 category. This versa-tile protein supports a range of applications and is lactose-free, low in fat, acid stable and heat stable during pasteurization.
PROfraction Beta was awarded gold in the Whey Protein Isolate, Instantized category. It is lactose-free with lower fat and carbohydrates. Ag-glomerated and in-stantized, PROfraction Beta is well-suited for powdered beverages and mixes. Hilmar 9020 earned silver and bronze med-als in the Whey Pro-tein Isolate, Acidified category. Known for superior dispersibility and reduced foaming, Hilmar 9020 performs well in RTM applica-tions, while its excel-lent heat and acid sta-bility also make it an ideal choice for RTD beverages.
It remains clear in solution, mak-ing it suitable for clear beverages, gels and protein waters. Hilmar 8010 won a silver medal in the Whey Protein Concen-trate 80, Instantized category. Instantized with soy lecithin, Hilmar 8010 disperses quickly in cold water and offers strong solu-bility and acid stabil-ity for powdered dry mix applications.
The World Champi-onship Cheese Contest is recognized as the world’s premier tech-nical competition for cheese, whey protein, butter and yogurt. Hosted biennially by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association since 1957, the con-test brings together expert judges from around the globe to evaluate entries using a stringent 100-point scale. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to the top three entries in each class.
Kevin Hubbard, Hilmar Site Director in Dalhart, proudly accepted the award on behalf of the Hilmar team and is shown in the photo attached to this article with Derek Snider, Taylor Peter-son, Kalyan Manchala and Sterling Craw-ford. These awards reflect Hilmar’s ongo-ing commitment to quality, innovation and delivering trusted dairy ingredients and cheeses to customers worldwide.
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