CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- When industrial designer Jarutat Snidwongse Na Ayuthaya developed a passion for making cheese, family and friends doubted that he would find much of a market in a country with no tradition of eating dairy products. Sixteen years later, with Thai cheese sales rising by more than 5% a year, "they could not be more proud," he says.
Jarutat (nicknamed Jart) stands out in the Thai dairy industry as one of a small number of cheese producers who are Thai, rather than European. He is also the most innovative, producing 11 types of cheese, including the country's first blue variety, and using sustainable methods and custom-designed equipment.
