Title: Coon cheese - Wikipedia
Headings: Coon cheese
Coon cheese
Contents
History
Background
Red Coon (1931–1959)
Coon (1959–)
21st century
Naming controversy
Coon's process
Footnotes
References
Further reading

Content: On 7 October 1949, Kraft Foods registered the trademark "COON" with the US Patent Office, claiming use since 1910. In November 1951, a new Kraft-Walker factory, primarily for the manufacture of processed cheese, was opened in Northgate, Brisbane. The buildings included a cool store for Red Coon cheese, which was being made at Quinalow in Queensland, and described as "mature cheese". It is described as "mature" in many advertisements and articles in the 1950s, although one article explicitly excludes it from the category of Cheddar cheeses. "Red Coon" cheese was referred to in a discussion about grading cheese in the Queensland Parliament in December 1958. Advertising under this name seem to have dried up in 1959. Coon (1959–)
In 1959, Coon "Tasty" cheese starts appearing in the press, with an illustrated advertisement showing labels which call the processed product "cheddar" and the Coon variety, sold in 8-ounce (230 g) packages, described as "Kraft natural tasty Coon Cheese, fully matured", with a "robust flavour men really appreciate". A 1961 ad, also in the Australian Women's Weekly, shows a slightly different label, including the information that it is "Manufactured in Melbourne" by Kraft Foods Ltd. The ad says it is "aged to full maturity", and its marketing suggests its appeal to "active men". 21st century
Lion Dairy & Drinks operated the brand for some years, until Warrnambool Cheese and Butter bought back the brand in May 2015. Coon is the Australian trademark of cheese produced by Warrnambool Cheese and Butter, which is majority-owned by Canadian dairy company Saputo Inc.
On 13 January 2021, Lino A. Saputo, the chair and CEO of Saputo Inc., announced the rebranding of the cheese under the name "Cheer", which will be launched in July 2021, following years of controversy over its name (see below).