Thriving on Family Farm Culture: Bles-Wold Yogurt

Bles-Wold Yogurt:

thriving on family farm culture

When most of us reach for a

yogurt –any brand of yogurt — we assume we’re making a healthy choice. Those probiotics are supposed to be good for you, after all.

But not all yogurt is created equally (be sure to read your labels!) and

Albertans may be pleased to know that some of the most wholesome yogurt on grocery store shelves is made right here in the land of beef and barley.

Bles-Wold yogurt was launched by

Hennie Bos and Tinie Eilers in 1996.

After immigrating to Alberta from the

Netherlands, the Bos-Eilers wanted to make a yogurt product that would be suitable for their daughter, who was affected by Type 1 diabetes. They experienced success with local farmers’ markets and eventually Co-op stores, and after a rewarding run, were ready to retire in 2018. Not wanting to wipe out their yogurt legacy, the Bos-Eilers approached another family of DutchAlbertan dairy farmers about carrying on the Bles-Wold brand.

Today, Bles-Wold is owned by the Beyer family, who have also operated Crystal Springs Cheese near Coalhurst, in Southern Alberta, since 2005.

Founded by Evert and Jannie Beyer, whose three adult sons also work with the business, Crystal Springs already had its own dairy, making it a perfect fit.

“Hennie and Tinie came to us and they found that we really aligned with all of their values,” says operations manager Harvey Beyer. “We’re both family businesses. The Bles-Wold dairy used its own milk and we do the same thing. We have our dairy farm right next door. They invested 20 years of their lives building up the brand and didn’t want to see it go to one of the big names or just disappear completely.”

Crystal Springs may not be a familiar name to most Albertans, even those of us who make a point to seek out homegrown products. The cheese side of the company, which produces both goat and cow’s milk cheese, is perhaps most renowned for its feta, but also makes cheddar, Havarti, and Gouda for the wholesale market. Because of a fairly saturated Alberta cheese market, the brand is more widely available in British Columbia, even through both the milk production and cheese-making is done right here in Alberta. It’s only been with the acquisition of Bles-Wold that the Beyer family has been really able to establish a retail foothold here in their home province.

Bles-Wold had already made its name as a healthier version of typical grocery store yogurts, but since buying the brand, the Beyers have worked in some techniques that weren’t available to the Bos-Eilers when they first started making yogurt in the ‘90s. For nearly a decade, the Beyers have been working on breeding cows that produce A2 milk, marked with a protein structure that is easier to digest than standard milk. The Beyers now have about 60 cows that produce A2 milk, which is dedicated for use with the Bles-Wold yogurt.

“The majority of dairy farms in Canada, have A1/A2 milk, but we test our milk and we make sure it only has A2 variants in the protein,” Beyer says. “For a lot of people that can handle goat’s milk but can’t handle cow’s milk, it makes a big difference. It’s not a lactosefree milk, but it has a similar protein structure to goat’s and sheep’s milk.”

The protein of the milk is an important differentiator for Bles-Wold, but it’s not the only factor that sets the product apart. The original Bles-Wold yogurt was also fresh and low in sugar

The Beyers have been working on breeding cows that produce A2 milk, marked with a protein structure that is easier to digest than standard milk.

and additives, but the Beyers have plans to create a “clean label” yogurt that completely stays away from the fanciful sugar-laden flavours that dominate most modern yogurt cases.

Beyond the fruit base (which the Beyers have decreased to lower the sugar content) in the flavoured yogurts, the yogurt itself is made simply, with that A2 milk, a small amount of skim milk powder for thickening, and probiotic culture. The on-site dairy gives BlesWold a sense of freshness that isn’t found in mass produced yogurt.

“One of the things we have going for us is that the milk we put in our yogurt is usually only two to three days old,” Beyer says. “We also have a store-to-shelf in three days policy. If we make the yogurt on a Tuesday, it’s in stores by Thursday. And only a small plant like us can do that quick of a turnaround.”

Bles-Wold produces about 3,000 litres of yogurt a week, with a product line that includes regular, Greek-style,

and drinkable yogurt in a variety of natural flavours, as well as sour cream. Products are available in Co-op and Sunterra stores throughout Alberta, as well as other select independent and chain grocery stores and markets.

Cookbook author and regular contributor to CBC Radio, Elizabeth is a Calgary-based freelance writer, who has been writing about music and food, and just about everything else for her entire adult life.