Cypress Grove earns honors, spotlighting Humboldt County cheese excellence

Cypress Grove’s latest honors do more than decorate a trophy case. They put Humboldt County’s cheese-making on a national stage, with a local creamery turning artisan craft into a point of regional pride and a reminder that the North Coast can produce food brands recognized far beyond California.

A winning year built on multiple competitions

The clearest measure of Cypress Grove’s momentum is the spread of awards across more than one competition. The Specialty Food Association said the company “shines with four wins at the World Cheese Awards 2024,” while another 2024 honor gave Cypress Grove a sofi Gold Award for its Meyer Lemon and Honey Fresh Goat Cheese Disk. Those are not small, symbolic nods; they place the company in the center of specialty food circles where buyers, chefs and retailers pay close attention.

A separate Deli Market News item adds more detail to the tally: Cypress Grove submitted seven cheeses for judging and received eight awards, including a “Best of California” recognition. That kind of performance shows reach across a lineup, not just one standout product, and it helps explain why the company’s name keeps surfacing in award discussions.

The honors at a glance:

• Four wins at the World Cheese Awards 2024
• A 2024 sofi Gold Award for Meyer Lemon and Honey Fresh Goat Cheese Disk
• Eight awards from seven cheeses submitted for judging
• A “Best of California” recognition

Why Humboldt County can claim this as its own

Cypress Grove is not just a cheese brand with local roots. It is part of the way Humboldt County presents itself to the rest of the country: a place where agriculture, artisanal food production and strong regional brands carry cultural weight as well as economic value. In a county better known nationally for redwoods and coastline, a cheese company with regular award wins helps broaden the picture of what Humboldt produces.

That matters because food identity is economic identity here. A brand like Cypress Grove gives local readers something tangible to point to when Humboldt’s name travels outside the region, whether through grocery shelves, restaurant menus or trade coverage. The company’s success also reinforces the idea that a North Coast business can compete with producers from far larger markets without losing the local character that made it stand out in the first place.

PR Newswire describes Cypress Grove as an “acclaimed Northern California creamery” behind Humboldt Fog and a “pioneer of the American artisanal cheese movement.” Those phrases reflect how the company has been framed in the market for years: not only as a producer of a single notable cheese, but as part of a broader shift toward American artisanal cheese that has rewarded craft, flavor and clear regional identity.

Humboldt Fog remains the signature

Any conversation about Cypress Grove eventually comes back to Humboldt Fog, the cheese that most closely ties the brand to the county name. The company built a 2024 nationwide campaign around that recognition, using the theme “Nothing Like That Humboldt Fog Feeling.” That campaign does more than promote a product; it turns Humboldt itself into part of the appeal, a marketing asset rooted in place.

That choice makes sense for a company whose strongest brand signal is geographic. Humboldt Fog is not a generic label, and the campaign leans into that distinction by treating local identity as a selling point. For Humboldt County, that creates a useful loop: the county gives the brand its name and story, and the brand sends that name back into national food culture.

The longer record shows this is not a one-year fluke

The 2024 awards add to a pattern that stretches back at least several years. A 2019 Deli Market News item noted that Cypress Grove received honors at ACS and ICA for cheeses including Humboldt Fog, PsycheDillic, Truffle Tremor and Straight Up. That earlier recognition matters because it shows continuity: the company has not simply landed one big year and moved on, but has repeatedly shown up in competitive cheese circles.

That track record strengthens the local significance of each new trophy. When a Humboldt County brand wins again, it is not just the result of one product launch or one judging panel; it is evidence of an established reputation that keeps being validated. For a county that values place-based businesses, that consistency is a business story and a community story at the same time.

The practical effect is straightforward. More awards can sharpen shelf appeal, deepen buyer confidence and keep a small Northern California creamery visible in a crowded national market. For Humboldt County, that visibility is its own kind of dividend: proof that a local maker, working from this corner of the North Coast, can set a standard that travels well beyond the county line.