A family-run cheese crafting business, which has been maturing for two years, has taken on a new production premises, ripe for scaling production, with support from a Start Up Loan.
Thirty-four-year-old Ethan Parry, and his parents Bann and Steven, are co-owners of award-winning artisan cheesemaker Usk Valley Cheese Company which started life two years ago at food technology start-up hub Food Centre Wales in Ceredigion.
The popularity of their range of three semi-hard cheeses – which are sold online, at markets, and in delis across Wales and the South West, and which celebrate the local landscape, flavours, and culture of the Usk Valley – meant that rented space at Food Centre Wales was no longer suitable for increasing production capacity.
“We were really keen to upscale production,” says Ethan, from Newport. “Quite simply, we were ready to take the next step by creating our own micro dairy. We travelled to Ceredigion, because the start-up support available there was invaluable – the team at Food Centre Wales offered real hands-on support, from recipe development to testing and packaging. It was an incredible resource. But this new space in Cwmbran is ideal for where we are now.
“Our business was born from a hobby. We are a family of cheese lovers who enjoy travelling to different provinces of France and Italy, expanding our understanding of homegrown cheeses.
“There can be some snobbery and assumption that French cheese is the best, but we have some outstanding British producers here, especially in Wales, and we have now become truly artisan producers ourselves – from milk to wheel”.
Currently, the family run the business as a side venture alongside their day jobs in various professional services roles – often working late nights and weekends to keep production on track.
However, with their new production premises, they hope to soon turn Usk Valley Cheese Company into a full-time enterprise, making large batches of Chartists’ Heritage, a tribute to the area’s infamous Chartists rebellion; Roman Gold, a nod to Caerleon, a local area steeped in Roman history; and Six Peaks, named after the nearby Brecon Beacons and also a Gold winner in the New Cheese Category at the British Cheese Awards 2025.
The £25,000 Start Up Loan, alongside substantial personal investment, has been used to source premises and provide upfront costs to secure local milk suppliers and equipment essentials.
Greg Tipper, Start Up Loans delivery manager, British Business Bank commented: “It was a pleasure to work with Ethan and the team it’s fantastic to see such a great family business manage to take from concept managing their own production based in Wales. This success is a real partnership of support organisations in Wales I’m delighted that our funding can help them scale up with their own facility to take things to the next level and I’m excited to watch them develop further.”
The British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme provides government-backed loans of up to £25,000 per individual, alongside free mentoring and support for new business owners across the UK.
