Watch: Miyoko’s Creamery on Plant-based Cheese’s Evolution

For Miyoko’s Creamery, the relationship between real ingredients and food science has, thus far, been smooth and natural. But the company believes the masses are hungry for more: it recently debuted new plant-based cheeses, including slices, blocks and shreds — which have conventional retailers excited. To broaden its reach, the brand will also launch a pizza cheese in foodservice this year.

In an interview, founder and CEO Miyoko Schinner explained how the company’s R&D team studies enzymes, fermentation and the “power of plants,” applying traditional cheesemaking techniques to mimic cheese’s flavor and texture as closely as possible.

“It’s really this combination of the old and the new,” Schinner told NOSH. “It’s a deep dive into this whole world of creating foods out of things that you never would have thought you could have done.”

While originally the Miyoko’s team set out to create premium plant-based products “worthy of respect,” Schinner said it was time for “modern solutions” affordable enough to reach the masses. As Miyoko’s grows the platform, the company is also converting a dairy farm to an entirely plant-based operation, which will, in turn, propel its own rapid innovation goals. At the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco last week, Schinner told NOSH reporter Beth Kaiserman that the future of her brand is not just animal-free, sustainable and naturally delicious — but fueled by compassion to give the struggling dairy industry a piece of the plant-based pie.