David Scharfman loved crunchy cheese when he was a boy, like the edges of a grilled cheese sandwich. He asked his father to make crunchy cheese so that he wouldn’t have to wait for a grilled cheese to get his edges. Fortunately for David, his father Paul was (and still is) a Wisconsin cheese maker, and David soon had his crunchy cheese snack. His dad gave it out at the next trade show, and it sold for a while then fell by the wayside.
David went off to college, first to the University of Wisconsin for a degree in political science and Chinese, then to the University of Virginia for an MBA. He ventured far from Wisconsin, to China and the Philippines, working in both the cheese industry and the gaming industry, finally moving to New York City to work as a financial consultant. It was there that he and his wife Connie picked up a random bag of cheese snacks, and David remembered the crunchy cheese of his boyhood. He knew that he could make a better cheese snack and one that would be 100% natural!
David and Connie packed up for Wisconsin and launched Just The Cheese with his father. The 100% Wisconsin cheese is handmade in the family-owned factory, shredded, crumbled and baked.
- Just The Cheese bars come in Aged Cheddar, Mild Cheddar, Grilled Cheese and Jalapeno Cheese.
- Just The Cheese minis come in Wisconsin Cheddar, White Cheddar, Grilled Cheese, Garlic & Chive and Jalapeno.
The Wisconsin Cheddar minis won first place in the snack cheese category of the World Championship Cheese Contest held in Madison, Wisconsin in 2020.
Just The Cheese snacks are free of nuts, sesame, soy, egg, wheat and gluten. With less than one gram of carbohydrates, they fit right in with low-carb, keto and Atkins diets. They are vegetarian and diabetic friendly and have as much protein (8 grams) as a cup of milk. They do not need to be refrigerated and the special packaging gives the bars a shelf life of 9 months, the minis 12 months.
Just The Cheese snacks are a sensational grab-and-go, but they also make great dip chips, snazzy crackers on a custom charcuterie board, and gourmet crumbles for soups and salads.
David and Connie support organizations that serve people with severe dietary restrictions, such as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Celiac Foundation.
They also honor a family tradition of helping the surrounding community. When Paul bought an abandoned high school and turned it into his headquarters, he breathed new life not only into an old building but also into the community at large. Now the Scharfmans have found they can provide an economic lifeline to the local dairy farmers. Just The Cheese sources 70% of its milk from farms within 30 miles.
They also donate Just The Cheese bars and minis to food pantries that feed the needy and to medical staff across the country in appreciation for the long hours they work and their selfless service.
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