Springfield Creamery wins global gold for Nancy’s butter in France

Springfield Creamery put Lane County on a global stage in France, where Nancy’s European Style Organic Unsalted Butter won gold at the 2026 Concours International de Lyon. Organizers said more than 2,200 cheese and dairy products were entered, and only 680 received gold or silver medals. Springfield Creamery stood out as the only U.S. gold medal winner in the dairy competition.

For a company built in Eugene and Springfield, the medal carries weight well beyond a trophy case. The creamery, founded in 1960 by Chuck and Sue Kesey, remains family owned and operated into a third generation, and Nancy’s Probiotic Foods has long been the brand most Oregon shoppers recognize on store shelves. The winning butter fits that identity: a premium, organic, European-style product from a local maker that has spent decades linking the Willamette Valley to the natural foods movement.

That history matters in Lane County, where Springfield Creamery helped popularize natural foods long before the category became mainstream. The Oregon Encyclopedia says annual sales exceeded $20 million in 2010, a sign of how far the business had grown from its 1960 start. A global gold medal can sharpen that story for grocery buyers and local customers alike, especially as premium dairy brands compete for attention in refrigerated cases.

The recognition also landed during a hard stretch for the Kesey family. Co-founder Sue Kesey died in August 2025 at 86, and Chuck Kesey died in November 2025 at 87. Against that backdrop, the Lyon win offers a fresh point of pride for a company that has remained tied to the family name and to Lane County for more than six decades. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden congratulated the creamery, adding a political nod to a prize that could translate into new interest, stronger sales and more attention from butter buyers well beyond Oregon.