Willicroft

Willicroft Original Better, a new plant-based butter

© Willicroft
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

© Be Better My Friend
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

Image courtesy PBWE
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

©Willicroft
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

©La Vie Foods
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

©Willicroft
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

© Willicroft
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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Beans Willicroft

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Company News

Brad Vanstone on Transitioning Plant-Based Cheese From Nuts to Beans

Willicroft has seen enormous success this year with its vegan cheeses in retail in the UK, and throughout the Netherlands and Belgium. Here founder Brad Vanstone discusses his brand’s journey, the crowdfunder which is now at 50%, and the plan to transition cheese production from nut-based to legumes.

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Brad Vanstone, Willicroft

Founder Brad Vanstone ©Willicroft
Interviews

Willicroft: “Cheese is a Global Good and So Are Our Ambitions”

Brad Vanstone has had good cause to celebrate this month: as the grandson of a dairy farmer whose products were previously stocked in UK supermarket Waitrose, the launch of the Willicroft farm plant-based cheese range into the same retailer two generations later was a special moment for him.

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This is Not Cheese Sauce Willicroft

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Products & Launches

Willicroft’s This is not Cheese Range Launches Across UK After Success in Europe

Willicroft, founded in early 2018 by Brad Vanstone, the grandson of a dairy farmer who was inspired to create plantbased cheese alternatives upon converting to veganism, rolls out its This is not Cheese Fondue, This is not Classic Cream Cheese, and This is not Grated Cheese Italian Style throughout the UK this week.

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