About us
Elite Imports Ltd has been supplying high quality speciality products to wholesale and retail customers in the UK and Ireland for nearly 40 years. We are the exclusive importer of award-winning cheeses produced by Champignon-Hofmeister Group, a family-owned company making the finest speciality cheese for over 100 years. We have successfully introduced quality brands such as Cambozola, Montagnolo Affiné and Rougette to the UK Market.
All of our cheeses arrive on a weekly basis from Germany, packed to order. This ensures freshness and quality of our cheese to speciality distributors and retailers across the country.
The history
In the 1900’s Cheesemaker Julius Hirschle developed a Camembert cheese with a completely new taste. The cheese was characterised by a particularly creamy texture and a delicate mushroom flavour as he had used the rich, local milk from the Swiss Brown Cows that graze on the fertile grass that grows in the Allgäu region of Bavaria.
In 1908, his Camembert was sold in the Bavarian region with the help of cheese trader Leopold Immler. Whilst there were no mushrooms in the cheese, the distinct aroma of mushroom (champignon), led to the trademark name and the company was born.
A love for the trade, the highest quality standards, and the courage to innovate saw its multi-generational development from a small dairy into today’s Champignon-Hofmeister Group – setting countless new milestones throughout its long history.
Today
Popular brands, top-quality cheese specialities and a long tradition are what distinguishes the Champignon-Hofmeister Group.
The group is still family-owned and boasts 4 innovative dairies from which speciality cheeses are brought to people around the world. The company’s head office in Lauben, Allgäu, is in the beautiful unspoilt countryside of Bavaria.
Production is maintained in Bavaria and milk continues to be sourced from the local farms that have been supplying the company for generations. The milk used by the master cheesemakers is free from preservatives, stabilisers and artificial flavours which is how they guarantee delicious quality - 100 percent real cheese with a natural taste, retaining all the milk’s valuable nutrients.
After the initial success of the camembert, more cheeses have been crafted and perfected and the company’s range now includes soft-ripened cheeses, blue cheeses, and speciality cheeses for cooking.
The cheeses are all suitable for vegetarians (as produced with a microbial rennet) and lactose intolerants due to the natural maturation process. They are also all naturally gluten free.
Contact us
The team is here Monday to Friday from 9am til 5pm to answer your calls and emails. We aim to reply to emails within 24 hours so if it's more urgent, then do call first.