Listen for the squeak!

SQUEEK-ies…the only fresh, off-the-shelf snack cheese product offered in the PEI. It was a pleasure working on the branding and packaging with The Island Artisan Cheesehouse owner/operator Mathieu Gallant. This was my first taste experience with cheese curds. Once the bag is opened it’s hard to stop eating!

I took my queue from eating the cheese curds to create a name that defined the user experience and remind those who have enjoyed cheese curds that this is the real deal. And of course, what little critter do people associate with cheese and squeaking—a mouse. This uses a whimsical treatment of the mouse filling in for the letter Q with it’s tail swirling up to complete the product logo. Blue was used with the black for this initial product. Future products have the option of replacing the blue with another vibrant choice.

Mathieu Gallant’s artisanal cheese factory is located in Mont-Carmel. Cheddar cheese SQUEAK-ies is the first product in the range Mat’s Cheese Snacks. When its fresh it ‘squeaks’ as you chew, hence the name SQUEAK-ies. It is a characteristic of this cheese and particularly familiar product in Quebec. His cheese factory includes a ’boutique’ with a counter, which is open by appointment.

He is currently making about 35 kilos of cheese per week. SQUEAK-ies is available in Wellington Co-op as well as Summerside and Charlottetown farmers markets. There are also about a dozen restaurants which use Gallant’s cheese for their poutine.

Mathieu received a grant from the Fund Ignition of the provincial government in 2014. That same year Mathieu won first prize at the competition of Dragons in a francophone economic forum. It’s great to see a young entrepreneur successfully pursuing his dream.