Zany Zeus

Inspired by the way his Cypriot mother Lefki made halloumi cheese, Michael Matsis decided to research the art of cheese making. With a Food Technologist degree under his belt and years of perfecting the art of cheese-making, including installing a VAT machine outside his sister Meropi’s Wellington house, Michael’s dream became a reality in 2000 when he started up his first business Zany Zeus with his sister Meropi. Initially Michael focused on introducing a traditional Cypriot halloumi cheese to the New Zealand market which was relatively unknown at the time – and it wasn’t long before the awards began rolling in and Zany Zeus cheeses, including halloumi and feta became a well loved and recognised brand in the hospitality industry. In 2003 Zany Zeus upgraded its processing facility to include a HTST Pasteurisation System complete with homogeniser, separator and bottling plant. It is from this point that Zany Zeus began to process organic milk under the Zorganic brand. For the past 12 years the company has focused on supplying cheese, organic milk, cream and cultured products (mascarpone, sour cream, crème fraiche, cream cheese and yoghurt) to hundreds of cafes and restaurants, predominately in the Wellington region. Following increasing demand from customers wanting to buy retail sized Zany Zeus products (including several door knocking attempts by Zany Zeus fans on the factory door!), Michael and his sister Meropi decided to open in March 2012 their first ever retail store in Moera, Lower Hutt, just up the road from the milk and cheese factory.