Born and raised in the Netherlands, Marieke Penterman was raised on her parent’s dairy farm of 60 cows. Marieke began a job as a farm inspector after obtaining her Bachelor’s in the dairy business. In the interim, Rolf Penterman, immigrated to Thorp, Wisconsin, and established a 350-cow dairy farm in May 2002. Thorp was the appropriate place because of its substantial dairy industry and hospitable locals. Rolf was followed by Marieke a year later. She missed the cheese from home once she arrived in the US, so she started looking into how to launch her own company. In November 2006, Marieke produced her first batch of Gouda, and in just four months, she won a gold medal at the 2007 US Champion Cheese Contest. Numerous honors followed, with the United States Grand Champion in 2013 serving as her best victory to date. The values of Marieke Gouda include cow comfort, people, and pride in one’s work.