Sargento

Heritage & History

Leonard Gentine Sr. and his partner Joseph Sartori founded Sargento in Plymouth, Wisconsin in 1953, naming the company by combining parts of each partner's surname. The company's founding innovation was pre-packaged shredded cheese — a convenience product that home cooks were willing to pay a premium for and that, in 1953, simply didn't exist in grocery stores. Sargento invented the category.

The company pioneered vacuum-sealed packaging for shredded cheese, developed resealable packaging before it was standard, and introduced ultra-thin slices for consumers who wanted cheese that melted quickly. Each of these innovations required investment in new equipment and processes, and Sargento's willingness to invest in packaging technology has been as important to its success as the cheese itself.

Sargento remains family-owned five generations after its founding — the Gentine family has never sold. This independence has allowed the company to prioritize long-term quality over short-term cost reduction, a decision visible in every package of Sargento cheese.

Made in Plymouth, Wisconsin

Sargento manufactures its shredded, sliced, and snack cheese products at facilities in Plymouth and Kiel, Wisconsin, in the heart of America's dairy state. Wisconsin produces more cheese than any other state in the nation, and Plymouth sits at the center of that dairy tradition — the town calls itself the Cheese Capital of the World, and the density of cheese factories and creameries in Sheboygan County is genuinely remarkable.

Sargento uses only natural cheese — no processed cheese product or cheese food — in all of its products. The shredding lines in Plymouth produce the consistent, fine-cut shreds that have made Sargento the standard for home pizza and casseroles. The company employs thousands of workers across its Wisconsin facilities, and its purchasing of Wisconsin milk supports hundreds of dairy farms in the region. Made in Wisconsin, as cheese should be.