Miyoko Leaves Miyoko’s Creamery
Vegan dairy brand Miyoko’s Creamery has seen its namesake, founder and CEO Miyoko Schinner, formally depart the company, according to an announcement from the brand today.
Schinner is no longer involved in day-to-day company operations, with Jon Blair, Miyoko’s CFO assuming the role of interim president to guide the company during the transition.
“Looking towards the future and exponential growth of the company, we are excited to continue and expand upon our brand mission and uphold our certified B Corporation of innovating products that only contain plant ingredients that are better for human health,” said Blair in a press release. “We also plan to make our current portfolio of products more available and to innovate products with simple, vegan ingredients, time-honored techniques, and delicious flavors.”
According to the announcement, the company has partnered with staffing firm Heidrick & Struggles to find a CEO and is looking for a “highly qualified, passionate, and mission-driven leader, ready to take the company into its next stage of growth.”
Founded in Northern California in 2014 by Schinner, a former chef and cookbook author, Miyoko’s Creamery started with the goal of making plant-based cheese products through traditional cheesemaking methods, and with recognizable, nutrient-dense ingredients. In order to appeal to a more conventional shopper, in recent years the brand has launched products such as cheese sticks and a liquid pizza cheese, However, last year, it discontinued its shredded cheese line because Schinner felt the oil and starch-based product did not align with the company’s values and mission.
“We continue to be driven by our core company values of craft, compassion, conviviality and courage, with these principles as our guiding light for future growth to come in the coming months and years,” Blair said in a press release.
Miyoko’s Creamery has raised a total of $78.6 million to-date, with its last raise, totaling $7 million, closing in June last year. Investors in the company include PowerPlant Partners, CPT Capital, Cult Capital, Obvious Ventures and Stray Dog Capital, among others.
Earlier this week, former Plant-based Food Association (PBFA) executive director Michelle Simon announced on LinkedIn that she had joined Miyoko’s board. In a post on the social media site, Simon thanked Schinner “for the honor.”
As the dairy-free cheese space has grown, Schinner has been outspoken about the value of whole-food ingredients in plant-based innovations and previously told NOSH that she believes the highly-processed dairy-free innovations peddled by large food conglomerates will be problematic to the category’s longevity and appeal to consumers.
Schinner is also a founding board member of the PBFA; however, she is no longer listed as a board member on the organization’s website. Schinner has long been an advocate of the plant-based movement broadly, and spearheaded legal action against the California Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), which tried to bar the company’s use of terms including “butter,” “lactose-free” and “cruelty-free” on vegan dairy product labels. She won that battle in 2021.
Though the company did not specify the cause of Schinner’s departure, she has regularly spoken about the need for advocacy within the plant-based movement. In a LinkedIn post in January, she described 2022 as “hands down the worst year of my life,” and then stated she is embarking on something new this year that would begin to take shape over the coming months.
“One thing I learned in 2022: we can’t save the world or animals just by changing out the products we sell,” the post reads. “Yes, creating a marketplace of vegan options IS important in order to increase access for more people, but if you aren’t working to change hearts, you’re just peddling products. Activism cannot be overlooked, and simply trying to change the dynamics of the marketplace can be fraught with other issues as well where companies can fall into the same trap as traditional big food.”
