Cheese Company Heartisan Foods Sold to The Gellert Group

April 14, 2025

Wisconsin cheese company formed in 2021 by Ronin Equity Partners and Landon Capital Partners looks to grow with Gellert Group’s specialty cheese subsidiary Atalanta Corp.

Andy Hanacek

Barron, Wis.-based specialty cheese company Heartisan Foods will be sold by Ronin Equity Partners and Landon Capital Partners to The Gellert Group, which owns specialty cheese subsidiary Atalanta Corp.

Heartisan was formed by the Ronin/Landon partnership through the acquisition and integration of Red Apple Cheese, Barron County Cheese and Cheese Brothers in June 2021. Heartisan also absorbed the North Country Packaging business that was acquired in June 2023. Today, it sells more than 70 different cheese products, sold primarily through the Red Apple brand.

Atalanta is one of the largest privately held food importers in North America and brings in high-quality cheese, charcuterie, deli meats, grocery products and seafood. It was founded in 1945.

The news release also noted that immediately prior to the Heartisan transaction, the Cheese Brothers online brand and distributor business was carved out from Heartisan and is being sold separately for an undisclosed sum. No other details were included in the release on that deal.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.