Cabot Creamery Cooperative is phasing out the reference to “Vermont” on its labels, because the milk it uses in it’s dairy foods doesn’t come solely from Vermont, but also from surrounding states.
One old logo has “Cabot” stamped over a green outline of the state, with the word “Vermont” next to it. Another has the shape of Vermont under the word “Cabot.” The new one has a green barn and the words “Owned by our Farm Families in New York & New England.”
Some state officials are worried about the change, saying Cabot’s widespread distribution helps promote other Vermont products and tourism. They are considering changing state law to let Cabot keep the Vermont reference in its logo.
While Cabot has been synonymous with Vermont since the cooperative was founded in 1919, the state also has a tough truth-in-labeling law. Cabot’s butter is made in West Springfield, Mass., from cream sourced from around New England, said Roberta MacDonald, Cabot’s vice president for marketing. But Vermont references were “all over the packaging,” Assistant Attorney General Elliot Burg said.
MacDonald said Cabot agreed with Burg’s concern and speeded up introducing the new logo on its butter. Cabot’s cheeses and other products continue to be made in Vermont, but the milk used in making them comes from farms around New England and New York.
Shumlin said he was working on a proposal “that might lead us to a solution that would preserve the integrity of the Vermont brand and enable Vermont companies like Cabot to spread the Vermont love.”
Richard Stammer, CEO of Agri-Mark Inc., a Northeast dairy cooperative that includes Cabot, said that even if the state changes its law, Cabot will not change its logo back.
Source: Times Union