As the selection of frozen plant-based pizzas in US supermarkets continues to grow, one company is thrilling fans with a brand of locally made, artisanal pies produced in Richmond, Virginia.
Newly developed cheese
Launched in 2023, Udderless is a homegrown brand specializing in gourmet vegan frozen pizzas made with its own recipe of dairy-free cashew-based cheese. But the brand owners didn’t originally set out to start a frozen pizza company. After opening his own restaurant, The Hop Craft Pizza & Beer, in 2018, founder Evan Byrne began offering plant-based pizza options made with vegan cheese from a local startup called Unmufoods.
However, as demand for the pizza grew, Unmufoods unexpectedly closed its doors, leaving Byron to search for another suitable cheese alternative.
“I just started experimenting and trying to come up with a cashew-based cheese,” Byrne told the Richmond Biz Journal. “I ordered stuff from Amazon and researched online. It took me like two years to get something that we thought was passable. Then it started getting really good.”
Byrne originally wanted to sell his cheese as a standalone product, but realized his customers actually wanted pizza, leading him to launch the Udderless brand in early 2023.
Local and handmade
The crustless bake-at-home pizza is handmade and available in a variety of varieties: classic cheese, vegan pepperoni, a Greek variety with Kalamata olives, red onion, baby spinach and tomato, and jalapeño pineapple. Recently, Udderless added a Roasted Squash and Zucchini Vegan Lasagna to its lineup.
The company notes that all pizzas are handmade at Byrne’s restaurant in Richmond, which is capable of making 200-250 pizzas a week. The products are currently sold at a growing number of local and independent grocers in and around Richmond, including Stella’s Market, Union Market, Good Foods Grocery and Elwood Thompson.
Adderless isn’t looking for funding yet, Bryn said, because they’re still in the initial launch phase and testing consumer feedback. But he is optimistic about the future expansion of the brand. “At some point we’d like to grow it, but I’m not sure,” Byrne shared. “It’s really early and I’m not sure we’re ready for it. I want to be in a big store.”