Applewood Vegan cheese – made by dairy giant Applewood, now makes up a staggering 20 percent of the brand’s U.K sales, according to reports.
The dairy-free cheese, which was launched last October, was developed for the U.K’s growing number of vegans and flexitarians as well as those with allergies and intolerances.
Within a day of Applewood Vegan’s launch in Asda stores across the nation, it was selling out in some outlets – even outselling its dairy-based counterpart for a time.
Demand
Applewood bosses admitted to being ‘staggered’ by the overwhelming demand, with senior brand manager Lisa Harrison telling Plant Based News: “All over social media people are posting fevered enthusiasm for the taste and the meltiness of this cheese, posting that they’ve been buying up to 14 packs at a time.
“It’s clearly the one they’ve been waiting for as Applewood Vegan finally solves that age-old problem of wanting to drop dairy but fearing you’d miss the taste of cheese. We are thrilled and somewhat staggered by the response.”
Sales
Now, according to Vegan Food & Living, demand for the product is ‘showing no signs of slowing down either as sales of Applewood Vegan have increased by 16 percent month on month since July 2020’.
In addition, the outlet reports, research from Alertr.co.uk showed that ‘since April, online searches for Applewood Vegan have increased by 150 percent making it the second most searched for vegan product in the UK’.
Harrison told Vegan Food & Living: “It’s been a great year for Applewood Vegan…We are so proud of what has been achieved and to be a dairy company that is not shying away from the increasing demand for plant-based alternatives and making the bold decision to offer a vegan alternative for a well-known established cheese brand such as Applewood.”