History - Bettinehoeve

In 1982 the Bettinehoeve (Bettine was the Dutch word for goat in the 17th century) was established by Johan Ewijk. In that year Johan Ewijk decided to settle in Etten-Leur to start for himself. This began with milking 2 goats. After some time the Bettinehoeve started processing the goat's milk into cheese as well as keeping goats. In 1990 it was decided to stop keeping milking goats and to focus entirely on the production of goat’s cheese, for which milk was bought from goat farms in the area.

In 1992, the leap day of 29 February was a fateful day with the cheese making shop of the Bettinehoeve burning down completely. This black period was ended in February 1993 with the opening of a new modern production facility in the same location as the old farm.

In 1997 Bettinehoeve took a completely new direction by choosing to produce fresh goat’s cheese. The production of hard cheeses was done by other producers. This carried some risk because there is more demand for hard goat’s cheeses. But because the demand for fresh goat’s cheese exploded after that, this choice seems to have been excellent.

10 years later in 2007, the company opened a 2nd production facility of 2000 m2. This modern production facility will give Bettinehoeve the capacity to continue to meets the continually growing demand for goat’s cheese in Europe. The "headquarters" on Bankenstraat in Etten-Leur, where it all started, will always be the heart of the company.