Ronin-backed Heartisan Foods is acquiring cheese manufacturer North Country

• To finance the purchase of North Country, Ronin is using a $10 million revolving credit line established for Heartisan when the latter was formed in 2021
• Ronin created Heartisan through the simultaneous acquisition and merger of Red Apple Cheese, Barron County Cheese, and Cheese Brothers
• Based in New York City, Ronin Equity Partners targets the industrial and consumer sectors

Heartisan Foods, a manufacturer and online U.S. seller of specialty & flavored cheese, is buying Wisconsin-based North Country Packaging, a cheese manufacturer.

Heartisan Foods is backed by Ronin Equity Partners.

North Country’s co-founders, Kendall Goossen and his wife Maria will retain a significant stake in the combined entity.

To finance the purchase of North Country, Ronin is using a $10 million revolving credit line established for Heartisan when the latter was formed in 2021.

Ronin created Heartisan through the simultaneous acquisition and merger of flavored & smoked cheese specialists Red Apple Cheese, Barron County Cheese, and the direct-to-consumer eCommerce business Cheese Brothers. That original transaction was financed by institutional investors and family offices including Landon Capital, Cardinal Equity and First Haven Capital.

Based in New York City, Ronin Equity Partners targets the industrial and consumer sectors. The firm was founded in 2019 by Managing Partners David Feierstein and Jesse Yao alongside other former senior executives from Kraft Heinz, NCR, and Diversey.