Supermarket Perimeter - April 2023 - 38

Cheese
Plant-based
By Hayley Hyer
Saputo shows strategic planning
By Donna Berry
A few years ago, Montreal-based Saputo Inc.
recognized the opportunity in the vegan cheese
space and made strategic investments in the United
Kingdom to prime itself for bringing a vegan cheese
to the marketplace. Now, Saputo Dairy USA has
brought the Vitalite brand of plant-based, vegancertified,
dairy-free cheese from the UK to the
United States.
It started in February 2019 with the acquisition of
Dairy Crest Group PLC, a UK-based dairy company
that owned the Vitalite brand and used it on sunflower
oil-based spreads. This got Saputo into the UK. Then
Saputo acquired vegan cheese manufacturer Bute
Island Foods Ltd. in 2021. Soon after Saputo acquired
the company, it brought the Vitalite brand into the
dairy-free cheese segment.
" It was in the UK for about six months before we
brought it to the US, where we first offered it to our
foodservice customers, " Mr. Cherrie said. " The retail
packs are now entering the marketplace. "
Chicago-based Rosati's Pizza was one of the first
to offer Vitalite on its menu, which helped Saputo
raise consumer awareness for its retail launch in the
summer of 2022.
" People following a plant-based or flexitarian diet
have limited options in the grocery store, and many
of those options lack appeal, " said Chef Nikki
Trzeciak, executive chef and senior manager of
culinary and sensory at Saputo. " The idea for Vitalite
came out of trying to solve that. We want home
cooks to feel liberated in the kitchen and inspired
to create traditional foods they have an emotional
connection to without compromise. "
38 - APRIL 2023
supermarketperimeter.com
OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS,
plant-based food trends have
fluctuated as consumers lean
more into vegan lifestyles,
meat-heavy paleo diets and
everywhere in-between.
According to San Franciscobased
Grand View Research's
Vegan Cheese Market Size,
Share & Trends Analysis Report,
younger generations have
been boosting the plant-based
cheese markets, particularly
millennials.
In 2021, the global vegan
cheese market was valued at
$2.43 billion (USD), and the
report predicts that the market
will expand at a compound
annual growth rate (CAGR) of
12.6% from 2022 to 2030.
According to the report, some
of the prominent players in the
current vegan cheese market
include the following:
* Treeline Cheese
* Follow Your Heart
* Daiya Foods Inc.
* Kite Hill
* Violife
* Dr-Cow Tree Nut Cheese
* Tofutti Brands, Inc.
* Tyne Chease Limited
* Miyoko's Creamery
* Parmela Creamery
The report determines the
biggest factor driving the
growth of plant-based cheese
is the increased consumer
awareness of animal cruelty and
other environmental issues in the
dairy industry.
Secondarily, more and more
consumers are discovering that
their health is adversely affected
by eating dairy products. In 2019,
the Food Intolerance Network
reported that around 70% of the
world's population experience
lactose intolerance.
Plant-based ingredients
The Grand View Research report
found that vegan cheeses made
from cashews held the largest
global revenue share of more
Vitalite, GOOD PLANeT Foods
http://www.supermarketperimeter.com
Supermarket Perimeter - April 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Supermarket Perimeter - April 2023
