Willicroft

Willicroft team

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Company News

Willicroft Announces Closure After Six Years of Operations

Amsterdam-based plant-based cheese company Willicroft has officially announced its closure following difficulties in meeting fundraising targets in 2024. The company, founded in 2018 by Brad Vanstone, created sustainable alternatives to dairy inspired by traditional cheese-making techniques, but ultimately could not achieve the financial viability required to continue operations. In a public statement on Linkedin, Vanstone described the decision to close as a difficult one. “2024 was a tough year for Willicroft. After failing to meet our fundraising goals, we made the difficult decision to sell the company,” he wrote. Reflecting on the company’s trajectory, he acknowledged its contributions to the plant-based sector while also noting the challenges it faced in scaling. Willicroft began as a small operation in Vanstone’s kitchen in Amsterdam, drawing inspiration from …

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Willicroft dairy alternatives

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Facts & Figures

Willicroft Dairy Alternatives Produce Up to 25X Fewer Emissions Than Conventional Dairy

Dutch dairy alternatives producer Willicroft has published a product emissions report comparing the environmental impact of its plant-based cheeses and butter to equivalent dairy products. The results take into account agricultural processes, production, packaging, transportation, and end-of-life for packaging. They show that Willicroft cheeses produce up to 25 times fewer carbon emissions than their dairy equivalents; for example, Willicroft Greek White generates just 1.26 kg of CO2 equivalent per kilogram, while traditional feta produces 34.1 kg. The brand’s butter alternative, Original Better, produces 2.48 kg CO2-eq/kg, compared to 16.9 kg for dairy butter. Furthermore, many of the products have lower emissions than dairy alternatives made by other plant-based brands. Original Better outperforms an Upfield butter alternative, and is roughly on par with Naturli’s organic spread. …

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Willicroft Original Better, a new plant-based butter

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Fundraising

Willicroft Launches Crowdfunding Campaign for New Clean-Label Vegan Butter Made with Beans and Fermentation

Dutch company Willicroft, Europe’s first plant-based cheese brand to achieve B-Corp certification, announces the launch of a crowdfunding campaign to support the release of its latest development at retail and food service in 2024: Willicroft Original Better, a vegan butter made using beans and fermentation. Willicroft aims to raise €350,000 through a convertible loan agreement (CLA) via Seedblink. Individuals or investors will have two options to convert the loans into equity shares in the company: a valuation cap of €7.5 million or a 20% discount. As the company explains, the likely conversion date of the CLA is set for Willicroft’s Series A in early 2025.  The campaign’s goal is €475,000; however, Willicroft already has €125,000 committed offline by existing investors.  Regarding returns, the company believes it is well-positioned …

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Be Better lifestyle

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Milk- and Dairy Alternatives

The Rise of Plant-Based Butter: Market Poised for Exponential Growth by 2030

The vegan butter market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period from 2023 to 2030, driven by health-conscious consumers, as it is considered a healthier alternative to butter, according to ResearchAndMarkets. Since butter is a ubiquitous ingredient in cooking and baking, developing alternatives has been imperative. Many companies have successfully created incredible products that replicate the taste and, more importantly, the functions of dairy butter. Let’s take a look at the alternatives stealing the spotlight:  Willicroft Original Better Willicroft, Europe’s first plant-based cheese brand to achieve B-Corp certification, recently launched Willicroft Original Better, a clean-label alternative to butter for cooking and baking applications. The NPD is made with beans and precise fermentation (not precision) that uses non-GMO bacteria. This process allows it to replicate butyric …

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PBWE London

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Fairs & Events

We Asked PBWE Europe: What Are You Most Excited About Right Now?

Plant Based World Expo Europe took place at London’s Olympia last week, hosting the most exciting names, both established and emerging, in the plant-based industry. Incredibly, the organisers have informed us that the event almost doubled in size, with a 94% increase in visitors compared to 2021. vegconomist was present at the event and took the opportunity to ask some of your favourite brands about what’s currently exciting them, at the end of this eventful year. In alphabetical order: Future Farm Future Farm is excited to have launched in the UK with food service distributor Brakes. The Brazilian alt meat producer has had a successful year across international markets, including expanded retail distribution in the US. Grupo Planta Also of Brazil, Grupo Planta operates its …

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Beans Willicroft

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Agriculture / Agribusiness

Willicroft Sows First White Beans in Renegenerative Farming Project, Preparing For 2023 Upscale

Willicroft, the Netherlands brand which became the first plant-based cheese B Corp this March, reveals to vegconomist it has sown its first white beans — the staple ingredient in the brand’s cheese recipes — as it prepares to upscale in 2023. Two years ago, Willicroft became aware of the extremely high emissions of cashews — the previous main ingredient — through an initial lifecycle assessment. The team set about looking for alternative ingredients that could tackle a multitude of factors – lower emissions, similar nutritional profile, neutral colour and flavour to name a few. Most importantly, this new base ingredient needed to be grown within or close to its consumer base in the Netherlands. Two weeks ago, the first seeds of white beans were sown …

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alt protien manufacturer La Vie's vegan bacon burger

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Fairs & Events

Announcing the 15 Finalists of the Carrefour Plant-Based Contest

French supermarket chain Carrefour created a contest this March called the Plant-Based Contest, designed to help innovative startups advance to market. The contest has three categories: plant-based protein products, strong concept, and service offering. More than 250 startups from all over the world participated, of which 15 have been selected for the final that will be held on June 9 in the heart of Paris. On this occasion, 10 winners will be selected as well as the “coup de coeur” of the jury. Here are the 15 finalist startups: Cocoriton Cocoriton is a French company created by farmers. The company has created vegetable patties based on legumes rich in fibre and grown in the fields of French farmers. EATIC The French startup EATIC, created in …

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RockstartTeam with Willicroft

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Cheese Alternatives

Willicroft Secures €2M to Spread Sustainable Bean-Based Cheese Across Europe

Popular Netherlands alt cheese startup Willicroft announces today it has raised €2 million to fuel growth in the UK, Germany and the Nordics. Willicroft is environmentally focused and previously altered its recipes to a legume base for increased sustainability. The pre-seed round was led by Rockstart, Paulig’s venture arm PINC, Döhler and Feast Ventures as co-investors. The brand was previously backed by Capital V, the VC firm founded by prolific vegan investor Michiel van Deursen. A planet-forward success story Based in Amsterdam, Wllicroft was originally founded as a dairy farm in the UK in 1957 and relaunched in its present form as a plant-based cheese company in Amsterdam in 2018, going on to become the first plant-based cheese company to become BCorp in Europe. After …

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Willicroft b-corp

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Cheese Alternatives

Willicroft Becomes Europe’s First Plant-Based Cheese B-Corp

Willicroft, the vegan cheese specialist based in Amsterdam, has become the first plant-based cheese brand in Europe to achieve B-Corp certification. The news comes as Willicroft opens its first brick-and-mortar store stocking a selection of the best up-and-coming plant-based cheeses. The B-corp certification addresses the social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability of a business’s operations and covers five key areas: governance, workers, community, environment, and customers. Willicroft scored a total of 108.5 points overall, with the vegan cheesemaker hoping to increase its rating even further over the coming years.  The Willicroft brand takes its name from the former dairy farm of founder Brad Vanstone’s family, with the now 100% vegan dairy company on a mission to reimagine how we consume cheese. The brand recently …

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Willicroft albert heijn

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Investments & Finance

Dutch Plant Based Cheese Producer Willicroft Receives Investment From Vegan VC Firm Capital V

Capital V, the VC firm founded by prolific vegan investor Michiel van Deursen, announces it has funded the Amsterdam based craft cheese producer Willicroft, marking the first investment in the alternative cheese category for Capital V. Founded in 2018 by Brad Vanstone, who was born into a family of UK dairy farmers, the brand’s This is Not Cheese range has more than doubled yearly. After successful rollouts into the Netherlands and Belgium in 2020, Willicroft expanded the range into the UK the following October. The cheeses are currently made with cashews, though the brand is experimenting with other local ingredients that will change the footprint and taste of the product range. Sustainable production Speaking to vegconomist last November, Vanstone explained: “The reason plant-based producers use …

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