De Fryske will become a cooperative of farmers and customers

De Fryske in Lemmer, a maker of sustainable and bird-friendly cheeses, is being restructured into a cooperative. Not only farmers can become members of this dairy cooperative, but customers of the Fryske can also become co-owners. Through this form of sharefunding, the company wants to attract capital for further growth and, De Fryske reports in a statement, to make more of an impact in the dairy world.

"The time is right for the Fryske, I have that feeling stronger than ever," says Catharinus Wierda, founder of the Fryske, in the statement. "Consumers are asking for sustainable cheese, nature is calling for help and the market is crying out for change. That is why we want to grow strongly in 2023. To make that growth possible, we are taking a big step: I am going to share ownership of the Fryske ." This shared ownership means that the Fryske will sell shares. The certificates are already too reserve and from June 11, 2023 for sale via the green investment platform Broccoli: www.broccoli.eu, reports the Fryske. The minimum entry price is €500. 

Focus on increasing cheese stock
The aim of the new cooperative is not only to attract growth capital, emphasizes Wierda. "We also want to involve our farmers, buyers, suppliers and customers more in the company," says Wierda. "This is how we can change the dairy world together." De Fryske was founded in 2017 and is now sold throughout Friesland. The cheeses are also on the shelves nationwide at Plus and Albert Heijn. De Fryske will use 90% of the capital injection with the formation of the cooperative for a larger cheese stock. Wierda: "We spend the remaining 10% on sales and marketing. After all, we want to reach more customers: online, in retail, in the food service industry and via export."

Not all investors in the Fryske will soon also have voting rights, the company explains in an explanation. That depends on the capital someone invests in the company. Investors who invest enough to obtain 1% or more of the total interest in De Fryske become a member type C in the cooperative and have voting rights. The other investors do not become members of the cooperative, but are 'certificate holders' and are excluded from voting rights, De Fryske explains. The company has created a special group in the cooperative for members type B. This group is for the farmers who supply milk to the Fryske. From 0,5% of the total interest in the Fryske, this group acquires voting rights.

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