The idea of producing cheese came to Francis Belser, a Swiss citizen, when he was at school and years after that he began to carry it out in Georgia. The business that he began together with one of his friends and several Georgian partners, turned out to be quite successful and the company now averages more than a ton of cheese per year. However, they plan to raise this number to 3-3.5 tons. 

‘Georgia and Switzerland have a lot in common, that is why I got interested in doing business here. We began to produce Swiss cheese and decided to call it ‘Alpine Gold’’, - Francis Belser tells Businesspressnews, - ‘My partners began the first activities two years ago and the first sum of money invested was 100 000 GEL. At this stage we produce only one type of Swiss cheese and in the future we plan to produce butter and other types of cheeses too. This country has a great touristic and gastronomic future and we want to be part of it. That is why we began to produce Alpine cheese. Apart from taking the free space at the Georgian market, we also help Adigeni’s alpine zone to develop’.

Belser’s enterprise collaborates with the farmers whose cows pasture 2 200 meters above sea level. There are absolutely different climate and grass and that is why the alpine cheese is different from other kinds produced in other mountainous areas. 

A kilogram of alpine cheese costs 50 to 55 GEL 

and the principal customers are the chefs from different hotels and restaurants. 
‘We plan to widen our production, but all our products will be sold here in Georgia because it is very difficult and expensive to transport this kind of production to other countries. Besides, Georgian market needs Swiss cheese and so we do not plan to export our production’.

Belser also said that it is quite easy to do business in Georgia, but in general, the agricultural business is not easy to manage. ‘It takes hard work, knowledge and respect towards what you are doing. You have to love and respect the peasants, the farmers and all the people you work with and you have to be honest. But most of all, you have to respect animals’, - Belser says. 


Author: Nana Mghebrishvili