Natural cheese processors know product aging is a critical step in production. Then again, what if you “aged” the R&D and innovation process behind a new cheese?

That’s the remarkable story Sargento’s Natural American cheese slices, which debuted this January after more than a decade of research and development. Rod Hogan, senior vice president, innovation, says it was all the way back in 2012 when this Plymouth, Wis., company discussed a natural version of American cheese—the processed, pasteurized mainstay known for its distinct taste and melt characteristics.

Hogan says Sargento scientists experimented with early product prototyping throughout 2013 and 2014. Then, by late 2015, he says it was time to pause the project.

“We realized that our current development path and timelines were not going to be able to deliver to our product performance expectations,” he says. “So we called time out and told R&D team, ‘Look, now there’s no timeline. Figure out how to make the science work and when you feel good about it, let’s revive it again as a project. So in early 2016, we started working to identify and explore new technological pathways to deliver the product consumers desired.”

It would be another seven years, in early 2023, before the Sargento R&D team came back with a technically and commercially viable product. With that, Hogan says the company launched rigorous consumer testing to confirm the product delighted consumers and delivered against their expectations.

A Deep Dive into the Future of Food & Beverage

“Overcoming this challenge involved proprietary scientific advancements in natural cheesemaking,” Hogan adds. “In the end, our R&D team employed a unique, dual-workstream approach.

“One workstream focused exclusively on manipulating specific ‘levers’ within the natural cheesemaking process to achieve the desired melt and texture. A separate workstream concentrated on perfecting the flavor profile. These two distinct approaches were then expertly integrated to ensure a cohesive and authentic American cheese experience.”

Of course, the operations team at Sargento also shares the spotlight.

“Significant technical work was further required to scale the product in a manufacturing environment,” Hogan notes. “Producing this innovative natural cheese required adapting and optimizing processes within a natural cheesemaking plant. It pushed the boundaries of traditional methods to achieve the specific characteristics our consumers desired.”

By January 2025, Sargento was ready to launch Natural American Cheese, which features just five ingredients: pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, and annatto (vegetable color). In contrast, standard, processed American cheese contains nine or more ingredients including emulsifiers.

Hogan notes the new cheese also is right in step with consumer clean label interests.

“More than half of consumers express that they would prefer to eat more real, natural offerings and less processed food,” he says. “And the declining $2 billion processed cheese category indicates a clear consumer migration. In comparison, the natural cheese category is more than $13 billion and growing.”

“This product is a tribute to our R&D team and the awesome work there,” he concludes. “It was truly a labor of love and the result is a true technological breakthrough owned by us. In the world of premium cheese, this is an innovation that differentiates us. It’s truly the first of its kind and we are the only people who can do this.”