Miyoko's Creamery

Last updated
Miyoko's Creamery
IndustryDairy-free products
PredecessorMiyoko's Kitchen
Founded2014
Headquarters Sonoma, California
Website miyokos.com
Clockwise from top: pepper jack, garlic and chive cheese spread, and lox cream cheese (all vegan). Miyoko's Creamery - three vegan cheeses.jpg
Clockwise from top: pepper jack, garlic and chive cheese spread, and lox cream cheese (all vegan).

Miyoko's Creamery, formerly Miyoko's Kitchen, is an American food producer founded by Miyoko Schinner in 2014.

Contents

Overview

Miyoko's Creamery specializes in dairy-free products including butter and a wide variety of different types of cheeses using traditional cheesemaking cultures and techniques, chiefly out of cashews, oats and chickpea flour. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

History

Miyoko Schinner initially started a vegan food company named Now and Zen in 1997, but could not get anyone to invest in the business. She closed that company in 2003. [6] In 2014, Schinner [7] established "Miyoko's Kitchen", but later changed its name to "Miyoko's Creamery". The startup swiftly accrued $1 million in seed money, first being invested in by Seth Tibbott, the founder of Tofurky. [1] [8]

Fundraising continued to grow: in 2017, it obtained $6 million in funding, for a total of $12 million. [9] In December of that year, it moved from a 4,000-square-foot facility to a 29,000-square-foot facility, [9] [10] located in Petaluma. [7] Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi made an investment in Miyoko's Creamery in November 2019. [11] [12] In addition to vending within the United States, Miyoko's Creamery expanded its market in 2019, distributing to Canada and Australia. [13] [14]

On 10 November, Miyoko’s Creamery announced plans to raise $12 million in funding and explore the potential sale of the business, as reported by Bloomberg. In a letter to shareholders, CEO Stuart Kronauge outlined a "financial stabilisation plan" aimed at increasing profits and considering strategic alternatives, including selling the company. [15]

Food Truck

Miyoko's Food Truck, in a Cross Country Tour starting from March 4, 2020, distributed 15,000 free grilled cheese sandwiches around the United States in order to promote cruelty-free vegan cheese in the Country. [16] [17]

In August 2021, Miyoko's Creamery prevailed on First Amendment grounds in their lawsuit against the California Department of Food and Agriculture's attempts to force the company to cease using the words "Cheese" and "Butter" among others in the marketing of their products. [18]

In February 2023, Miyoko's Creamery announced that Schinner was no longer CEO, and that it and Schinner had parted ways. [19] A few weeks later, on February 16, Miyoko's Creamery filed a lawsuit against Schinner, alleging that she misappropriated confidential information and copied the data to her personal cloud after the board of directors voted to terminate her as CEO. The case was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, Case 3:23-cv-00711. [20] In response, on March 3, Schinner's attorney Lisa Bloom announced that she would be filing a wrongful termination counter lawsuit. Bloom stated: “The company's behavior in forcing her out of the company she created and built, then trashing her via an outrageously malicious and misleading lawsuit will be met with facts and witnesses showing that Miyoko's own complaints of toxic and sexist behavior by certain male executives were swept under the rug, and then she was demoted and fired.” [21]

On May 18 Miyoko's Creamery and Schinner made a joint announcement that both lawsuits were resolved. The announcement states: "Miyoko’s Creamery and Miyoko Schinner are pleased that they have resolved all legal disputes between them and that they have withdrawn all legal claims made against each other. Miyoko’s Creamery acknowledges the tremendous creativity, hard work, and integrity of its founder, Miyoko Schinner, a true pioneer in vegan creamery products, and appreciates her many contributions to the company over the years. Miyoko Schinner appreciates the dedicated team of people at Miyoko’s Creamery and their commitment to continuing her legacy through sustained and continued excellence in manufacturing, developing and selling vegan creamery products." It also states that they both “wish each other well as they go their separate ways.” [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tillamook County Creamery Association</span> American dairy cooperative

The Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) is a farmer-owned dairy cooperative headquartered in Tillamook County, Oregon, United States. The association manufactures and sells dairy products under the "Tillamook" brand name. Its main facility is the Tillamook Creamery, located two miles north of the city of Tillamook on U.S. Route 101.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arla Foods</span> Danish-Swedish food company

Arla Foods Group is a Danish-Swedish multinational co-operative based in Viby, Denmark. It is the fifth biggest dairy company in the world and the largest producer of dairy products in Scandinavia and United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saputo Dairy UK</span> British dairy products company

Saputo Dairy UK, formerly Dairy Crest Limited, is a British dairy products company. It was created in 2019 when the Canadian company Saputo Inc bought Dairy Crest. Dairy Crest itself was created in 1981 as a spin-off of the Milk Marketing Board. Its brands include Saputo Dairy UK, Cathedral City Cheddar Cheese, Country Life Butter, Utterly Butterly, Vitalite and Clover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant milk</span> Milk-like drink made from plant-based ingredients

Plant milk is a plant beverage with a color resembling that of milk. Plant milks are non-dairy beverages made from a water-based plant extract for flavoring and aroma. Plant milks are consumed as alternatives to dairy milk, and may provide a creamy mouthfeel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prairie Farms Dairy</span> American Midwestern dairy cooperative

Prairie Farms Dairy is a dairy cooperative founded in Carlinville, Illinois, and now headquartered in Edwardsville, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis. As a dairy cooperative, Prairie Farms receives milk from producers and converts it into many different products, including cheese, butter, ice cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, various dips, yogurt, and fluid milk. Prairie Farms also produces and sells juices, flavored drinks, and pre-made iced tea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daiya</span> Canadian producer of vegan cheese substitutes

Daiya Foods Inc. is a Canada-based dairy-alternative food company located in Burnaby, British Columbia. The company was established in 2008 by Andre Kroecher and Greg Blake. Daiya's original products are cheese analogues made from coconut oil and tapioca flour that are known for their cheese-like consistency and melting properties. They contain no animal products or soy, lactose, wheat, barley, gluten, or nuts.

Vermont Creamery is a creamery and artisanal cheese and butter-maker in Websterville, Vermont, USA. It was founded in 1984 by business partners Allison Hooper and Bob Reese. Previously known as the Vermont Butter and Cheese Company, the company adopted its current name in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veggie Grill</span> American vegan restaurant chain

Veggie Grill is a fast-casual vegan restaurant chain that operates in California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York. After first being opened in Irvine, California, it already had 29 restaurants across the United States in February 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vegan cheese</span> Cheese-like food item made without animal ingredients

Vegan cheese is a category of non-dairy, plant-based cheese analogues. Vegan cheeses range from soft fresh cheeses to aged and cultured hard grateable cheeses like plant-based Parmesan. The defining characteristic of vegan cheese is the exclusion of all animal products.

First Milk is a dairy cooperative in Britain which manufactures cheese, specialist dairy ingredients and whey proteins for its customers, as well as providing traceable fresh milk to a range of dairy manufacturers and food processors. As a dairy co-operative, owned and run by farmers; the area covered by its milk pool runs from the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland down through England and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmhurst 1925</span> Food and beverage company

Elmhurst 1925 is a plant-based food and beverage company located in Elma, New York. The company manufactures and sells non-dairy, plant-based milks made from nuts, grains, and seeds. The first four nutmilks – almond, cashew, hazelnut, and walnut – debuted at Natural Products Expo West in March 2017. A number of additional products have launched since, including their line of unsweetened plant milks made with only two or three ingredients, award winning barista editions, dairy-free creamers, and single serve ready-to-drink options.

Upfield Holdings B.V. is a Dutch food company owning multiple brands of margarine, food spreads, and plant-based foods, including Flora and Blue Band. It states that it is the largest plant-based consumer packaged goods company in the world, operating in 95 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfect Day (company)</span> Food technology company

Perfect Day, Inc. is a food technology startup company based in Berkeley, California, that has developed processes of creating dairy proteins, including casein and whey, by fermentation in microbiota, specifically from fungi in bioreactors, instead of extraction from bovine milk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miyoko Schinner</span> Japanese-American vegan activist

Miyoko Schinner is an American - Japanese vegan chef, cookbook author, cooking show host, cooking school leader, vegan activist, and social entrepreneur. She is currently the host of the YouTube cooking show, The Vegan Good Life with Miyoko, and is working on her next cookbook.

ProVeg International is a non-governmental organisation that works in the field of food system change and has ten offices globally. The organisation's stated mission is to reduce the consumption of animal products by 50% by 2040, to be replaced by plant-based or cultured alternatives. Instead of increasing the share of vegetarians and vegans, ProVeg's focus is on reducing animal product consumption in the general population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Souley Vegan</span> Vegan soul food restaurant group

Souley Vegan is a vegan soul food restaurant group based in Oakland, California in the United States. Their only remaining location closed in October 2023, although the owner intends to reopen elsewhere. Their flagship restaurant was in Oakland. The restaurant group is owned by chef-founder Tamearra Dyson. They had additional locations, which have since closed, in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dr Mannah's</span> German vegan cheese company

Dr Mannah's is a manufacturer of vegan cheeses in Cuxhaven, Germany. Founded by Mudar Mannah in 2012, its products are based mainly on fermented cashew nuts.

References

  1. 1 2 "This Woman Is Taking On The $120 Billion Cheese Industry". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  2. Chowhound. "A Visit with the Queen of Vegan Cheese, Miyoko Schinner". Chowhound. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  3. Erickson, Katheryn (2019-08-23). "If I Close My Eyes, I'd Swear This European-Style Vegan Butter Is Real Butter". The Strategist. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  4. Mack, Heather (2019-11-14). "Vegan Cheesemaker Wants Dairies to Swap Cows for Plants". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  5. Bland, Alastair (7 April 2015). "Hold The Mammal: Daring To Make Dairy-Free Cheese From Nuts". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  6. Duggan, Tara (2017-02-16). "Vegan cheese startup Miyoko's Kitchen drawing lots of investors". SFGate. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  7. 1 2 Batey, Eve (2020-02-10). "Vegan Cheese Company Barred From Using Cow Photos By State Regulators". Eater SF. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  8. "Miyoko's Kitchen and the Rise of Vegan Cheese". Specialty Food Association. 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  9. 1 2 Forgrieve, Janet. "Will The Dairy Of The Future Come From Cashews Instead Of Cows?". Forbes.
  10. Marx, Rebecca Flint (2019-05-16). "Not milking it: how vegan cheese finally caught up with modern appetites". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  11. Pritchett, Liam (2019-11-14). "Ellen DeGeneres Invests In Vegan Cheese Brand Miyoko's". LIVEKINDLY. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  12. "Ellen DeGeneres invests in Pelatuma's plant-based dairy brand's growth". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  13. "Miyoko's Vegan Butter Debuts in 1,000 Stores in Canada". VegNews.com. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  14. "Miyoko's Vegan Cheese and Butter Expand to Australia". VegNews.com. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  15. Holland, Fiona (2023-11-21). "Miyoko's Creamery 'seeks funding, ponders selling business'". Just Food. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
  16. Ettinger, Jill (February 22, 2020). "Miyoko's Gives Away Vegan Grilled Cheese Truck on 17 City Tour". The Beet. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  17. "Miyoko's Food Truck to Give Away 15,000 Vegan Grilled Cheese Sandwiches in Cross-Country Tour". VegNews.com. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  18. Schlott, Rikki (30 August 2021). "California Court Rules Vegan Creamery Has First Amendment Right To Call Products 'Butter' and 'Cheese'". reason.com. Reason. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  19. "Miyoko's Creamery Announces Executive Transition". Business Wire. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  20. "Mintz Reps Vegan Food Company Miyoko's in Trade Secrets Suit". Law.com. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  21. Hamstra, Mark (2023-03-02). "Schinner Plans Countersuit in Miyoko's Creamery Dispute". Specialty Food Association . Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  22. Watson, Elaine (2023-05-18). "Brief: Miyoko's and namesake founder bury the hatchet, withdraw legal claims". agfundernews.com. Retrieved 2023-05-18.