London Inc. Summer 2022 - 21

" TO GET INTO WHOLE FOODS
WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR WAS
HUGE FOR US " -Andrew Zuk
first launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise startup
capital and to gauge interest.
" We got funded pretty quickly, " he says, " so I figured we
were onto something. "
From there, growth of the company follows a somewhat
standard entrepreneurial path. The company rented
commercial kitchen space, and Zuk enlisted his brother as
part of the team. ( " I thought this would be more fun if I had
my little brother around, " he says.)
For the first 15 months of operations, it was the two of them
in the kitchen, producing all the orders. " Let me tell you, " Zuk
recalls, " it was gruelling. "
This year, growth reached a point where Zuk removed
himself from the kitchen to work on growing the business
itself. They have enlisted a co-manufacturer and landed a
distribution deal that has put Plantworthy Cheeze Sauce into
more than 90 stores across Canada, including select Whole
Foods Market locations.
" To get into Whole Foods within the first year was huge
for us, " he says.
While not shying away from competition within the
vegan cheese space, Zuk acknowledges that a challenge
(and opportunity) facing vegan cheesemakers is not solely
marketing to existing vegans, but in getting omnivores to
start moving away from animal-based products - at least
part of the time.
" One of the main things we did is a pretty significant
sampling program, " Zuk says. In addition, they don't market
the sauce as 'vegan' - opting instead to use the more neutral
term 'plant-based.' The hope is more meat-eaters will give
the product a spin. " Just give us a try - we put that on our
marketing, " he says.
For the immediate future, the focus is on growing the
customer base and expanding the reach of the current
products rather than innovating with something new. Zuk
says the volatile price of cheese in Canada opens a lane for
them, but inflationary pressures put strain on his business
as well. He's trying to ride those pressures out, keeping an
eye on the long-term.
" Right now, we are focused on expanding our distribution
footprint, " he says. " We're just focused on moving forward
and taking the wins where we can get them. "
KIERAN DELAMONT
TRY ONE
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ON PAN AMERICA
ALL SUMMER LONG!
Visit us at 900 Wilton Grove Rd or
www.Rockys-Harley.com
SUMMER 2022 | londonincmagazine.ca | 21
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London Inc. Summer 2022

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