• courtesy of McKenzie Natural Artisan Deli
• McKenzie Natural Artisan Deli sandwich

Balancing tradition and change is nothing new for McKenzie Natural Artisan Deli, Vermont's 110-year-old meat-and-cheese biz. Still headquartered in Burlington, it has been owned by Massachusetts-based Kayem Foods Incorporated since 1999. While McKenzie's conventional Country Classics products remain part of its bread and butter, the company is now putting its bucks into building a line of non-GMO, antibiotic-free meats.

Staying true to its roots, McKenzie has been releasing those new products in the Green Mountain State before they become available elsewhere. The first, a non-GMO Angus roast beef, is currently available in Vermont and "select stores around New England and New York," said spokesperson Megan Mulcahy. A trio of hams will soon follow: one uncured, one spiral-sliced and one smoked.

Want cheese on that sandwich? McKenzie sells raw-milk cheddar and maple-smoked cheddar, both made in Vermont by Grafton Village Cheese from milk free of rBST.

Mulcahy said the new line is an acknowledgment that consumers are increasingly conscious of where their meat comes from. "Knowing that people's demands are changing and that people are paying more attention to what they're eating," she said, "we're looking at everything [the company does] and asking if we're making the best choices every step of the way."