Plant-based cheese: how is the market doing?

What’s driving growth, where the gaps remain, and how brands are finally beginning to get it right

There has long been a sense that plant-based cheese is lagging behind. While sales of milk alternatives and non-dairy yoghurts have established a strong retail presence, cheese has proven more difficult to replicate convincingly and more difficult to sell at scale. Texture, melt, and flavour remain significant technical hurdles. Consumers have been vocal in their frustration: even committed vegans have a tendency to critique most plant-based cheese. Yet despite the complaints, the non-dairy cheese market continues to grow.

The global market was worth around USD 3.58 billion in 2024, according to Fact.MR, with projected growth to USD 8.1 billion by 2034, at a CAGR of 8.5%.¹ Other sources put the figure slightly lower, but all point to steady long-term expansion. Short-term data tells a more uneven story. In the US, sales of plant-based cheese declined by 4% in value and 3% in volume during 2023-2024, according to SPINS data compiled by the Good Food Institute.² At the same time, repeat purchases rose from 48% to 54%, suggesting that a core consumer base is consolidating. The picture remains inconsistent from region to region, but the overall pattern mirrors what has been seen in other plant-based categories: a peak of early hype followed by a slower, more grounded phase of development.

Several factors seem to be holding the category back. Most consumers, including many who actively buy other plant-based products, remain unconvinced by the flavour, meltability and texture of vegan cheeses. In a recent survey by the Plant Based Foods Association, 73% of shoppers cited one of those sensory factors as their main reason for not buying more dairy-free cheese.³ Academic reviews have drawn similar conclusions, noting that most products on the market fall short of consumer expectations in both taste and functionality.⁴

What those same studies show, however, is that demand has not disappeared. Quite the opposite. Consumers consistently rank cheese as one of the hardest animal products to give up. A 2023 European survey by the Smart Protein Project found that nearly one-third of flexitarian respondents would eat more plant-based food if better vegan cheese were available.⁵ The desire for better options is real, and so is the opportunity.

Innovation and positioning: what’s working

There is no single formula for success in this category, but the companies making the most progress are those investing seriously in sensory realism and culinary performance. Cheese behaves differently from other dairy formats. The most commercially important characteristics – melting, stretching, slicing, grating, browning – are both technically complex and highly perceptible to the consumer. Shoppers may accept minor differences in taste or appearance, but when a cheese doesn’t melt on pizza or on toast, it fails at the most basic level of expectation.

Miyoko’s Creamery in California remains one of the most widely cited benchmarks. The company helped define the artisanal end of the category by applying traditional fermentation techniques to cashew-based formulas. Its aged and cultured products now include everything from double cream chive wheels to sliced pepper jack, aimed at retail and foodservice alike. Although Miyoko’s has faced internal restructuring and a recent acquisition, its brand continues to carry weight with chefs and health-conscious shoppers looking for a cleaner label.

In Europe, Violife has taken a different path. Originally founded in Greece, and now part of the Upfield portfolio, Violife has focused on broad retail appeal, prioritising convenience formats like shreds, slices, and cream cheese alternatives. Its products, based primarily on coconut oil and starch, are often favoured for meltability rather than aged flavour. While less refined than nut-based cheeses, they perform well in foodservice, especially in quick-service applications. Violife now claims to be present in over 65 countries.

Meanwhile, newer players are finding traction by narrowing their focus. La Fauxmagerie, which began as a vegan cheese shop in East London, has successfully transitioned into manufacturing. Its range includes matured truffle, aged cumin, and camembert-style cheeses, sold through its own retail channels and, more recently, in Waitrose. Rather than chase mass-market formats, La Fauxmagerie has built a following around indulgence, provenance, and deli-style presentation.

Further afield, brands like Grounded (Australia), and New Roots (Switzerland) are carving out niches with fermented cashew and almond-based cheeses. Some, like RIND in the US, lean heavily on ageing techniques and minimal ingredient lists to attract health-focused consumers and speciality retailers. While these products rarely scale into major supermarkets, they do command premium price points and attract committed repeat buyers.

Technological approaches are also diversifying. Some of the more experimental work is taking place in precision fermentation. Startups such as Formo (Germany) and New Culture (US) are using microbial fermentation to produce casein, the key dairy protein, without animals. In theory, this unlocks the potential for plant-based cheese that behaves identically to conventional cheese. Formo has already launched early prototypes in Europe, with regulatory progress pending. Cost remains a barrier, but pilot partnerships with foodservice and premium retailers could ease the transition.

A changing cast of players

It is no longer just startups driving innovation in plant-based cheese. Some of the most recognisable names in conventional dairy have entered the space, bringing with them not only brand recognition but considerable manufacturing and distribution muscle. Cathedral City, the UK’s leading cheddar brand, launched its first plant-based line in 2022. The range includes block, sliced and grated formats, made with coconut oil and oat starch, and is now stocked nationally in major UK supermarkets. Despite early scepticism, sales have been strong enough to sustain the rollout and raise expectations for further plant-based development within the brand.⁶

France’s Bel Group, best known for Babybel, The Laughing Cow, and Boursin, has also made its ambitions clear. It launched a dairy-free Boursin in the US in collaboration with Follow Your Heart, and later introduced a plant-based Babybel to several European markets. Arla, Europe’s largest dairy co-operative, has invested in the category through its JÖRĐ brand and other internal projects. These developments reflect a shift in how legacy players approach the plant-based category, recognising it as a commercially viable space with long-term potential.

Supermarkets are playing a significant role as well. Own-brand vegan cheeses are now a standard fixture across most major European retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Lidl, and REWE. While these products tend to be lower-priced and lower-margin, they offer a reliable entry point for consumers and a valuable route to market for producers. In many cases, supermarket labels are produced by the same mid-size manufacturers who also supply branded lines. This white-label model allows smaller innovators to gain scale and visibility without taking on the full burden of brand-building.

Market outlook: closing the gap

Despite significant advances in product development, plant-based cheese continues to underperform in consumer satisfaction studies. The sensory gap, especially in mainstream formats such as shredded mozzarella and sliced cheddar, remains the category’s defining challenge. Until that is resolved, broader uptake will remain constrained, particularly among flexitarians, who represent the bulk of potential buyers but are less likely to compromise on flavour and performance.

Retail pricing is another key friction point. While many nut-based or fermented cheeses command premium prices, conventional dairy cheese is still significantly cheaper across most Western markets. Scaling up production could help close this gap, but progress remains uneven. Ingredient costs, particularly for nuts and oils, continue to fluctuate, and consumer willingness to pay extra for plant-based alternatives is not guaranteed outside specialist or health-conscious demographics.⁷

Nevertheless, there are strong signals that plant-based cheese is moving into a more mature growth phase. As well as private label products in mainstream retailers, foodservice uptake is also improving, with Domino’s, Papa John’s and PizzaExpress all launching or expanding plant-based cheese options in key markets.⁸

Strategic priorities for new entrants

Success in the plant-based cheese market increasingly depends on focus and execution. The technical demands are higher than they were a few years ago, but there is also greater clarity about what consumers want and where the opportunities lie. New products need to do more than taste good in isolation. They must behave like cheese in real-life settings – on toast, in sandwiches, under a grill, or melted into a pizza. Sensory realism is really important, but what is more likely to drive repeat purchase is how well a product performs in the kitchen.

Texture remains the cornerstone of this. Taste is critical, of course, but texture is what consumers notice first and what they often remember most. Stretch, shred, spreadability, bite and browning all require deliberate formulation and iteration.

Focus is emerging as a common thread among successful operators in the sector. Rather than aiming for universal appeal, many are choosing specific formats, ingredients or routes to market that align with their capabilities. Some, like La Fauxmagerie or New Roots, are developing premium fermented ranges for retail and deli settings. Others, including Violife and supermarket own labels, are optimising meltable shreds and slices for foodservice or convenience use. Distinctive positioning is also beginning to take hold, whether through clean-label messaging, allergen-aware formulations or indulgent, artisanal branding.

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1. Fact.MR. “Vegan Cheese Market Outlook (2024 to 2034).” 2024. Available at: https://www.factmr.com/report/vegan-cheese-market2034
2. Good Food Institute. “State of Alternative Proteins.” June 2025.  Available at: https://gfi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2024-State-of-anchor-report_GFI24005.pdf
   
3. VegNews. “73 Percent of Consumers Want Better Vegan Cheese, Report Finds.” VegNews, March 27, 2023. https://vegnews.com/better-vegan-cheese-pbfa-report 
4. Short, Erin C., Kinchla, Amanda J., and Nolden, Alissa A. “Plant-Based Cheeses: A Systematic Review of Sensory Evaluation Studies and Strategies to Increase Consumer Acceptance.” Foods, 2021. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/1052900
5. Smart Protein Project. “Evolving Appetites: European Consumer Survey.” 2023. Available at: https://smartproteinproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/Smart-Protein-European-Consumer-Survey_2023.pdf 
6. DairyNews.today: “Cathedral City expands plant‑based cheese range with Smokey Block launch” (Sept 2024). Available at: https://dairynews.today/news/cathedral-city-expands-plant-based-cheese-range-with-smokey-block-launch.html
7. Euromonitor International. “The Key Trends Shaping Dairy Products and Alternatives into 2025” (November 2024). Available at: https://www.euromonitor.com/article/the-key-trends-shaping-dairy-products-and-alternatives-into-2025
8. Plant Based Foods Association. “Domino’s tests plant-based cheese alternatives in select markets.” (April 2024). Available at: https://www.plantbasedfoods.org/media/dominos-tests-plant-based-cheese/