When it’s time to introduce a new kind of cheese to grocery stores, many brands spend millions to develop a product without putting much additional money into marketing. But at Sargento, as its third-generation family CEO Louie Gentine explains, the company spends millions on advertising to make sure a new variety of cheddar or mozzarella is well-received.

“I don't call them big bets because I don't think they’re bets,” says the 49-year-old Sargento chairman, who succeeded his father in 2013. “Our opportunities are well-vetted. They're great investments, and we’ve had more successes than we've had failures.”

That strategy has helped Wisconsin-based Sargento maintain its position as a cheese powerhouse with $1.8 billion in annual sales. As the company enters its 71st year, Sargento’s slice of the $14 billion U.S. cheese industry continues to grow. It is now America’s top-selling natural cheese brand—a position it secured (as opposed to processed cheese products like Velveeta) in the past decade under Gentine as its market share has grown 20% to some 13% of all cheeses sold.

Sargento remains 100% family owned, which has given it an edge as the cheese industry has consolidated amid pricing pressure from private label competitors and large swings in the cost of milk. Including Gentine, there are a total of 60 shareholders, all descendants of Dolores (d. 2012) and Leonard Gentine (d. 1986). Forbes estimates their combined stake to be worth $1.1 billion.

Leonard Gentine and family 1991 when he earned the Laureate Award from the Dairy Industry Family Affair: More than 70 years after Leonard Gentine and his wife, Dolores (front row) founded Sargento, the cheese company remains family-owned, one of the secrets to its success.

Family ownership is more common in the cheese business than other parts of the food industry—and the Gentines compete against several other family dynasties, including billionaire James Leprino’s Denver-based mozzarella........

© Forbes