When Violife entered the US market from Europe in 2015, the dairy-free cheese category was still struggling to win over consumers, who rejected the unpleasant taste, texture and functionality of most vegan cheese products. Initially started as a small import business, Violife eventually expanded to thousands of US retail locations and introduced a range of innovative dairy-free cheeses, from standard mozzarella and cheddar to a Parmesan wedge, cream cheese, Colby Jack and halloumi-style grilling cheese.
Made with clean-label ingredients, the brand gained popularity and began appearing in major foodservice partnerships with chains such as Papa Murphy’s Pizza, Caribou Coffee and Peet’s Coffee.
As Violife continues to expand its portfolio and in 2023 the company will change its slogan from “100% plant based” to “100% dairy free” to appeal to more consumers. The Vegeconomist spoke with Chief Marketing Officer Brian Orlando about the brand’s latest developments, current challenges and how it plans to evolve the plant-based cheese category.
Violife recently announced that it is changing its logo and packaging Read “100% dairy-free” instead of “100% plant-based” – What inspired this change?
Since its founding over 30 years ago, Violife has been committed to creating delicious vegan products that everyone can enjoy. Our fans love our dairy-free cheeses for their great taste and outstanding performance. After listening to our followers, we’ve learned that many people who enjoy Violife aren’t necessarily vegetarians. Many of our consumers seek dairy alternatives for a variety of reasons, including allergies, indigestion and sustainability concerns.
In an effort to bring dairy alternatives to a wider audience, we are changing our tagline from “100% Vegan” to “100% Dairy Free”. In the US, our Violife 100% dairy-free alternatives save at least 50% of carbon emissions and at least 70% of land footprint per year compared to dairy cheese. At Violife, we believe small changes can make a big difference.
Violife has one of the largest plant-based cheese portfolios – Key Your top selling US product?
Our current best-selling products continue to be some of our more traditional flavors, including our Slices and Slices line. Our top sellers are Mozzarella Shades, Just Like Cheddar Slices, Cheddar Shades, Original Cream Cheese, as well as our Cream Cheese Variations.
What do you currently see as the biggest challenge? Plant-based cheese market?
Violife is the #1 dairy-free cheese in the US and worldwide. Although milk substitutes have become a staple in many consumers’ homes, fewer still buy dairy-free cheese. The dairy-free cheese category still has significant room for growth, and as the category leader, we believe we are best positioned to lead this growth and become the next generation of cheese.
“They have embraced plant-based milk with open arms, but are hesitant to believe that plant-based cheese can taste as good and work as dairy cheese.”
Another challenge the alt-cheese category often faces is that consumers have low expectations about the taste and performance of dairy-free cheese. They have embraced plant-based milks with open arms, but are hesitant to believe that plant-based cheeses can taste as good and perform as dairy cheeses, despite drastic improvements in the category. In-store availability has been a stumbling block for brands and alt-cheese categories. Violife has greatly improved its distribution on a national scale over the past few years, winning over stores like Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons Safeway Co, Whole Foods Market and more.
Now we need to raise awareness of delicious, dairy-free cheese alternatives that are more easily digestible by your body and better for the environment. Availability and awareness will ultimately lead us to expand the alt-cheese category in North America and win the hearts of those looking for a dairy-free alternative.
Violife is one of the fastest growing plant-based brands, with a Presence in 65 countries including USA, UK, Europe and Canada. what What market do you expect to expand next?
Violife has been a pioneer in the dairy-free cheese industry for years. Violife’s teams around the world are constantly looking for opportunities for Violife to bring dairy-free cheese to those looking for a delicious alternative.
Violife’s products have been featured in several major launches, 7-Eleven with Canada’s first vegan breakfast sandwiches and burgers The king is the bacon king of the UK. Can we expect more food service partnerships? year?
Our food service team is always on the lookout for vendors who want to include more dairy-free or plant-based options on their menu. Some of the other partnerships you’ll see launching this year include Amy Square’s first foray into plant-based pizza, Caribou Coffee, Barnes & Noble, PLNT Burger, and Papa Murphy’s in all U.S. locations, just to name a few.
We have recently partnered with several retail brands including Ming’s Bings, Splendid Spoon (D2C Food), Tattooed Chef, Planet Based Foods and Alex’s Awesome Sourdough Pizza.
Violife recently debuted its first dairy-free sour cream in the US – What other innovations are launching in 2023?
We are currently working on updating our packaging to celebrate the transition to 100% dairy-free and will then shift our focus to new product releases for 2024.
Are there additional major or exciting innovations in the pipeline?
We’ve got some tricks up our sleeve that will launch in 2024.
Looking ahead, what role do you think Biolife will play in shaping the plant-based cheese industry?
The past few years in the United States have seen an increasing number of households purchasing plant-based cheese, and they are often choosing Violife as their first dairy-free cheese brand. Consumers choose Violife for a variety of reasons, including health, allergy, indigestion and sustainability concerns. Our mission has always been to bring great taste and outstanding performance to the vegan and dairy-free category, and we will continue to champion this mission as we move forward as a brand.
As a brand that focuses on dairy alternatives to cheese, now is the time to embrace our vegan roots and vegan customers and welcome those who choose to live a dairy-free lifestyle.