Tillamook County Creamery Association

Tillamook County Creamery Association

Company type	Cooperative
Industry	Dairy products
Founded	1909 (1909)
Headquarters	Tillamook , United States
Area served	United States (primarily West Coast)
Key people	George R. Lawson (former CEO 1944–1950)
Products	Cheese, ice cream, butter, sour cream, yogurt
Number of employees	900 (2021)
Website	www.tillamook.com

The Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) is a dairy cooperative owned by farmers, based in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. It manufactures and sells dairy products under the "Tillamook" label, with its main plant—the Tillamook Creamery—situated near Tillamook, Oregon along U.S. Route 101.

According to Dairy Foods, Tillamook ranks as the 44th largest dairy processor in North America and reported sales reaching $1 billion in 2021. With close to 900 employees, TCCA stands as the top employer within Tillamook County. Its products hold a significant share of the market on the West Coast and are distributed across the country. The brand consistently receives accolades from industry organizations such as the American Cheese Society.

The cooperative consists of nearly 60 dairy farms, mostly located in Tillamook County. Its range of products encompasses cheese, ice cream, butter, sour cream, and yogurt, some produced internally and others through licensing partnerships. Tillamook is best known for its cheese offerings, particularly its Tillamook Cheddar. In March 2010, its Medium Cheddar earned a gold medal at the World Cheese Championship organized by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, achieving a score of 99.6 out of 100 and surpassing 59 other entries.

History

During the mid-1800s, the dairy potential of the Tillamook Valley was hindered by difficult transportation over nearby mountains. To overcome this, local farmers constructed the Morning Star schooner in 1854 to ship butter to Portland, Oregon. This schooner now appears in the cooperative’s logo, and a replica built in 1992 is displayed at The Tillamook Cheese Factory. The county’s first cheese factory was established in 1894 by Peter McIntosh and T. S. Townsend. In 1909, ten independent creameries united to form the Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA), which began advertising in major West Coast markets by 1917.

During George R. Lawson’s tenure as CEO (1944–1950), TCCA launched rindless cheese production in 1946 and introduced bottled milk in 1947. The construction of the Tillamook Cheese Factory north of Tillamook occurred in 1949 with financial support from First National Bank, enhancing storage and distribution capacity.

In September 2001, Columbia River Processing, Inc., a second cheese production facility located in Boardman, Oregon, doubled TCCA’s manufacturing output. The cooperative celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2009.

Tillamook Creamery

Situated at 4165 U.S. 101 North in Tillamook, Oregon, the Tillamook Cheese Factory serves as TCCA’s original manufacturing site and features a visitor center that draws more than 1.3 million guests annually. Visitors can explore self-guided tours that include video displays and interactive kiosks explaining cheesemaking and packaging techniques.

Tours inside the production area were discontinued in 1967 due to health regulations. A new visitors center spanning 38,500 square feet opened in June 2018, offering exhibit areas, dining options, and retail shops.

The facility produces upwards of 170,000 pounds of cheese every day and packages roughly one million pounds per week. Its storage warehouse has the capacity to age as much as 50 million pounds of cheese. Besides this main plant, TCCA operates the Boardman facility and contracts some packaging and distribution tasks to Marathon Cheese in Mountain Home, Idaho and Great Lakes Cheese in Salt Lake City.

Marketing

Tillamook's promotional efforts feature the "Loaf Love Tour," which utilizes specially designed Volkswagen "Baby Loaf" vans to offer cheese samples at retail locations and public events. Advertising campaigns such as "Food Loves Tillamook," "Dairy Done Right," and "Goodbye Big Food, Hello Real Food" have been instrumental in strengthening the brand's message. Additionally, the company supported the Grilled Cheese Invitational in both 2010 and 2011, further boosting its visibility in the marketplace.

Controversy

In 2000, the Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) acquired the cheese cooperative and brand based in Bandon, Oregon. Following this purchase, Tillamook's legal efforts to safeguard the "Bandon" trademark led to conflicts with local enterprises and drew international attention, particularly from Bandon, Ireland.

By 2004, Tillamook attempted to enforce its trademark rights against established regional businesses such as Tillamook Country Smoker, a producer of jerky. A federal court ruled that while Tillamook Country Smoker could register its business name, it was prohibited from using the "Tillamook Jerky" trademark.

The company attracted nationwide notice in 2005 when it mandated its dairy suppliers to eliminate genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (BGH) from their operations. This policy was implemented despite FDA approval of BGH and opposition from some farmers and Monsanto. Through this move, Tillamook positioned itself as a pioneer in responding to consumer concerns about product safety.

In 2018, a large-scale "mega-dairy" facility near Boardman, Oregon—one of the state's top milk producers supplying Tillamook—faced fines and litigation for violations related to wastewater management. Although Tillamook announced it had ended its contract with the operation following regulatory enforcement, it continued sourcing milk from the site, underscoring challenges in supply chain oversight amid environmental compliance issues.