As lawmakers and animal agriculture lobbyists have worked over the past few years to pass legislation restricting the labeling and marketing of plant-based foods, two brand leaders -- Miyoko’s founder and CEO Miyoko Schinner and Tofurky president Jaime Athos -- have been at the front of the charge to challenge these laws and give plant-based brands equal opportunities in the grocery store.
Between a $52 million funding round and several new product launches this year, Schinner has been plenty busy, but fighting for plant-based dairy brands has continued to be one of her top priorities. This year, she was victorious in a lawsuit in California challenging an enforcement notice the company received from the California Department of Food and Agriculture stating it couldn’t use terms like “butter” on its vegan butter product. In challenging these lawsuits, Schinner told NOSH she is working to put plant-based brands on par with traditional dairy.
“We need to be able to compete equally on the same grounds as the dairy industry,” she said. “We’re not getting the subsidies, we’re not getting the handouts. We are a private company that has to rely on our own revenues as well as equity, capital infusion, in order for us to succeed. So we do need to be able to market our products in a fair way that consumers understand, and they do understand.”
