Wine and cheese may have become a part of the popular lexicon but who would have thought beer and cheese would work just as well? Two years after they started brewing their own beer, brothers Agnay (L) and Prateeksh Mehra began looking for cheese to pair with it. Dissatisfied with the expensive options at the local supermarket, they decided to make their own.

“Imported cheese is often processed and lacks flavour. We make artisanal cheese that is preservative-free, vegetarian and packed with flavour,” says Agnay. After an eight-month incubation period, the brothers launched The Spotted Cow Fromagerie from their suburban Mumbai basement in February 2014 with ₹25 lakh from their personal savings.

With milk sourced from an Igatpuri farm and rennet parcelled by friends from the US, they produce three varieties of artisanal French and Italian cheese. While individual customers order from their website, they have tied up with three restaurants to supply their Camembert and Brie. Recommendations from clients sampling the gooey goodies at over 20 winetasting and food shows is helping spread the word — the brothers, who claim to be the only artisanal cheesemakers in Mumbai, have been getting enquiries from Pune and Bengaluru where they plan to expand next. They’re  about to double production from the current 65 kg of cheese a week and hope to go pan India in next five years. Next up: live cheese counters at hypermarkets.