Sweet dreams are made of cheese: Northamptonshire man inspired by lockdown turns his passion into monthly cheese box business

A Northamptonshire man who has always had a passion for cheese has made a success out of lockdown by setting up his own monthly, cheese box business.

Cheese on Towcest’ began trading in June last year during the first national, coronavirus lockdown, while founder, Mark Rodgers, was on furlough from his job working for a psychology company.

The 37-year-old, who has a passion for the dairy product and used to make cheese for friends and even ran ‘cheesemas’ at work, was struggling to find speciality cheeses due to shortages during the height of the first wave of the pandemic, so decided to set up his own monthly delivery business.

Made across the county, Mark, who lives in Towcester, sources a variety of cheeses and packages four different blocks with artisan crackers and a local chutney to send out each month.

Unlike subscription services, customers can order a monthly box whenever they want, so they are not tied to receiving one each month.

Mark, who now runs his business full-time, said: “It all came from my love and cheese and the shortages in the first lockdown.

“I love a cheap bit of cheddar as much as anyone else, but I couldn’t get any decent cheese or anything that was a bit different.

“So I started to think how can I make some money out of this but support the artisan cheese industry too?

“There was nothing really out there like this locally, so I began looking into cheesemakers and wholesalers and it took about six weeks to get up and running.”

During the first month of trading, the business received 20 orders, but now orders have reached between 35 and 40 each month, including customers who have become regulars.

In November, as the business grew and evolved, Mark began attending markets several times a week and even set up an online cheese tasting for customers, which he says was ‘great fun’.

Mark added: “We have customers who keep coming back and ordering every month, so that’s great.

“Also we have customers who were buying from the markets who no longer feel comfortable coming out, who have asked about delivery.

“It’s going well and with my passion for cheese and affinity to cheese, I love getting to see the dairies and how the cheeses are made.

“I loved what I was doing before as it was making a difference, but I really love what I am doing now too as it has been a passion of mine for years.

“If it hadn't been for lockdown I probably wouldn’t be doing this.”

Looking to the future, when restrictions are lifted, he also hopes to be able to extend to catering for parties and even cheese wedding cakes.

Until then, customers can get their cheese fix with monthly boxes that can be bought in two sizes - a family box and a box for two. Individual cheeses can also be ordered online, with free delivery over £10.

Mark usually delivers within 10 miles of Towcester, but due to the current restrictions, he is running a reduced delivery service in the NN12 area only. He is, however, happy for customers further out to message him via the website to see if they can figure out another option.

The Cheese on Towcest’ website can be found here.

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