Cashew Cheese Archives - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine

Vegan goat cheese by Les Nouveaux Affineurs

© Les Nouveaux Affineurs

Cheese Alternatives

Les Nouveaux Affineurs Presents La Bûche, a Gourmet Goat’s Cheese Likely to Ruffle Feathers in France

May 23, 2023May 23, 2023

Paris-based Les Nouveaux Affineurs this week presents its new creation, La Bûche (“the log”), a veganized goat’s cheese created with fermented cashews. Founded in 2017 by Nour Akbaraly, and receiving a €2M cash injection in 2020, Les Nouveaux Affineurs says that it “imagines, creates, and produces natural, vegan & vegetable alternatives to cheese”. Its popular products are indistinguishable from their traditional counterparts, and during a blind-testing amongst the public, Parisians were shocked and amazed to learn that this cheese did not come from cows. La Bûche is described by the French startup as a “ripened and fermented product handled with care for multiple weeks. Its delicate white crust and its soft center reveal notes that will remind you of goat cheese.” The product is crafted …

Organisations and Brands:

Les Nouveaux Affineurs

I Am Nut OK

© I Am Nut OK

Facts & Figures

I Am Nut OK: Artisan Vegan Cheeses That Are “More Daring Than Dairy”

December 19, 2022

I Am Nut OK is a London-based vegan cheese brand founded by American-Italian couple Angela and Nivi. As an Italian, Nivi struggled to give up cheese after going vegan, so Angela attempted to help him by creating her own vegan cheeses. Following some successful experimentation, I Am Nut OK was born. The brand’s cashew-based cheeses are made using a similar fermentation and aging process to conventional cheese, then flavoured with herbs and spices. The range includes plant-based ricotta, feta, parmesan, smoked cheddar, and more. A Christmas selection is also currently available, along with accompaniments such as sourdough crackers, vegan smoked salmon, and marmalade. Recently, I Am Nut OK opened Third Culture, a vegan deli based at Broadway Market in London. The deli offers a selection …

spanish quevana's cashew vegan aged cheeses

© Quevana

Retail & E-Commerce

Quevana: Spanish Producer of Fermented Cashew Cheese Enjoys Dutch Retail Success

October 24, 2022

Quevana, previously Vegetaleso, is a young food startup based in Segovia, Spain, founded by Alejandro de Quevana in 2020. At 18, driven by his vegan diet and with no previous experience in the food sector, Quevana started making vegan cheese. Only after a few years in business, Quevana’s vegan cashew cheese retails in 150 of the 600 Dutch Jumbo supermarket chain shops and at specialised shops in countries such as Qatar and Bahrain. Inspiration from Thailand In an interview, the young entrepreneur told EFE:agro that his inspiration came after visiting Thailand, where he tasted a dish that used nuts to replace cheese. He also noticed that most of the vegan cheeses in Thailand were for sale in other markets, including the Netherlands. Quevana started making …

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Margaret Coons, Nuts For Cheese

Margaret Coons ©Nuts for Cheese

Investments & Acquisitions

Nuts For Cheese Raises $5.35M for Expansion of Cashew-Based Artisan Cheese

June 15, 2022

Canada’s Nuts For Cheese, manufacturer of fermented cashew-based cheeses and butters, today announces it has closed a $5.35 million funding round led by Forage Capital Partners The investment will go towards equipment and facility enhancements, key hires, innovation and marketing initiatives. The company will also be implementing a board of directors led by Mike Fata as Chairman of the Board. Says Jim Taylor, Partner at Forage: “Forage is really excited to invest in a leading vegan cheese company that provides consumers with a real food alternative to traditional cheeses.” Founded in 2015 by vegan chef Margaret Coons, who initially sold the cheeses in farmers’ markets, the brand expanded into more than 1,900 retail outlets in Canada and entered the US with vendors including Whole Foods …

Organisations and Brands:

Nuts for Cheese

Margaret Coons, Nuts For Cheese

Margaret Coons ©Nuts for Cheese

Nuts for Cheese: “Within One Year of Market Entry We Gained National Distribution With Products in 45 States”

May 10, 2022May 10, 2022

Nuts for Cheese started life as a plant-based cheese brand when founder and CEO Margaret Coons was working as a vegan chef and used the kitchen after hours to create her own original dairy-free cheese recipes. Nuts For Cheese makes a premium, organic line of indulgent cashew cheeses, and has gone from strength to strength, recently reporting that it has seen 50% year-over-year sales growth as it increases distribution across the US. We were excited to chat with Margaret about her artisan cheeses, their rapid growth and her plans for the future. What is the origin story of Nuts for Cheese? I started Nuts For Cheese while working as a vegan chef and introducing a plant-based cheese board to the menu. It quickly became one of our …

Organisations and Brands:

Nuts for Cheese

Brazil's Novah! raises funding

© Novah!

Brazil’s Novah! Raises R$600,000 Through Equity Crowdfunding Platform Vegan Business

April 27, 2022

Brazil’s Novah! has become the third company to secure funding through the plant-based equity crowdfunding platform Vegan Business. The cashew cheese brand raised R$600,000 ($120,400) in just nine hours, with participation from 108 investors. Novah’s current portfolio includes five varieties of plant-based cheese (mozzarella, provolone, fresh, cheddar, and cottage cheese) and three cheesecakes (red fruits, coffee with ganache, and passion fruit). The brand intends to use the new funding to expand within the state of São Paulo by growing its team, increasing production, improving marketing efforts, and more. Vegan Business Vegan Business claims to be the first and only exclusively plant-based equity crowdfunding platform to be approved by the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission. Founded by vegan investor Christian “Crica” Wolthers, its aim is to …

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© NoMoo

Alt-Dairy Company NoMoo to Triple in Size as 50% of Brazilians Cut Down on Animal Products

October 20, 2021

NoMoo is the leading alt-dairy company in Brazil, producing cheeses, mayo, and cream made from cashews. The company has gone from strength to strength this year, recently closing a successful Series A funding round led by DXA Invest.

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Willicroft albert heijn

© Willicroft

Investments & Finance

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

August 12, 2021

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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Dr Mannah's

© Happy Cheeze GmbH

German Brand Happy Cheeze Announces Rebrand to Dr. Mannah’s

May 20, 2023August 9, 2021

As of now, Dr. Mannah’s Happy Cashew vegan cheese and co-chocolate alternatives, known as Happy Cheeze from 2012, can be found under the new name Dr. Mannah’s. The German producer previously had to rename its brand from Happy Cheeze to Happy Cashew due to a legal dispute which dictated that it was only allowed to call itself cheese if animal milk was included. “Happy Cashew was an obvious choice at the time, as it was visually not too far removed from the original brand name, while also referring to the raw material that forms the basis of our plant-based alternative products,” says Dr. Mudar Mannah, founder and CEO. In the meantime, the company has been busy working on innovations, the first of which will be …

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Pa'lais creamy sauces

© Pa'lais

Products & Launches

Belgian Plant-Based Cheese Startup Pa’lais Launches Four New Creamy Sauces

April 1, 2021

Pa’lais, a plant-based Belgian startup making organic cashew cheese spreads, has launched a range of four new creamy sauces — Nature, Bechamel, Alfredo, and Shiitake.

Forager Project CHEESEWORKS

Products & Launches

Forager Project Debuts Range of Cheeses Created With Priobiotic Cashew Yogurt

March 4, 2021

Forager Project, a family-run plant-based food company, has recently launched a range of organic, plant-based cheeses. The California brand, which entered into a partnership with Danone’s venture arm Danone Manifesto Ventures in 2019, has created the vegan cheeses in a unique way using its probiotic cashew yoghurt as a base.

Organisations and Brands:

Forager Project

Chao Cheese Board Field Roast

©Field Roast

Market & Trends

Global Vegan Cheese Market to Reach $2.5Bn By End of 2020

August 18, 2020

Market intelligence company Transparency Market Research has published a study forecasting a value of USD $2.5 billion for the vegan cheese industry by the end of this year. The global industry analysis and opportunity assessment projects a compound annual growth rate of 10%, which means it would reach USD $7Bn by 2030.

Cheese the Queen Black Garlic

©Cheese the Queen

Food & Beverage

Cheese the Queen Adds New Flavours With Superfoods to its Portfolio of Vegan Cheeses

May 7, 2020

Cheese the Queen, a Bulgarian startup that participated in the ProVeg incubator, has a mission to be the number one choice of conscious consumers in search of healthy and delicious cheese alternatives. In pursuit of their vision, they are dedicated to creating a signatory product line that offers inspirational and nutrition-rich taste experience.

©Treeline Treenut Cheese

Products & Launches

Treeline Treenut Cheese Announces New Line of Vegan Cream Cheese

September 27, 2020March 19, 2020

As reported by Food Business News, Treeline Treenut Cheese have announced the launch of its new line of cashew cream cheese. The flavors include plain, chive and onion, and strawberry.

©Parmela Creamery

Parmela Creamery Raises $1.25 Million in Series Seed Funding

June 19, 2019

Parmela Creamery, is a producer of artisanal, plant-based cheeses. Parmela uses traditional cheese making techniques for its cashew-based cheese products, including shreds, slices, sauces, dips, spreads, blocks and a new line of raviolis. The New York company has now raised over $1 million in a Series Seed financing round led by 25Madison. Other investors include Gather Ventures and Luke Abbott.