Taste-wise and texturally, vegan cheese is typically nothing to write home about. Dreamfarm, an Italian business in Parma, the Food Valley, aims to rectify it. It uses fermented almonds as a basis and a few other ingredients to create a plant-based mozzarella that, in its opinion, closely resembles real mozzarella rather than the typical vegan cheese substitute.
Dreamfarm’s plant-based cheese is similar to high-quality, traditional dairy-based mozzarella in that it is sold as a ball suspended in liquid; you are not purchasing a package of cubes or shredded bits with a mozzarella flavor. (The firm claims to own a patent for making this vegan “mozzarella in liquid” combination.) Additionally, the product has a lower fat, saturated fat, and salt content than mozzarella made from dairy, earning it an “A” Nutri-Score. (However, the protein content is also reduced.)
CEO Giovanni Menozzi explains, “The idea was that we wanted to create the champion in the plant-based cheese category.” “Therefore, we won’t skimp on ingredients, Nutri-Score, or overall healthy score.”
Although there is still a modest market for vegan products, more individuals are becoming interested in dairy substitutes as they try to consume fewer items produced by animals for both health and environmental reasons.
Menozzi, who joined Dreamfarm relatively recently as it progresses past its R&D-heavy early stages, describes how the company’s co-founders, Maddalena Zanoni, and Mattia Sandei, recognized a chance to grow the vegan cheese industry by emphasizing product quality.
In essence, they saw that the market for plant-based cheese was relatively small, both in terms of goods and category. However, the reasons were evidently due to the subpar products, he says TechCrunch. “A large number of ingredients—more than ten or twelve—also unhealthy in products.”
Sandei, one of the co-founders, had previously worked for a business-to-business provider of food ingredients to the alternative meat sector. Menozzi continues, “I believe that they wanted to replicate what they saw in the meat alternative industry in cheese.”
“Many companies started out making meat substitutes with a lot of ingredients that weren’t tasty or healthful, but as the market matured, consumers demanded that products have fewer ingredients, a Nutri-Score of A, and be of high quality.”
The following is the complete list of ingredients for Dreamfarm’s vegan mozzarella: Almond foundation (water, 25% almond, oat), vegetable fiber, salt, agar-agar, natural scent, and fermentation (allowed by the use of a yeast-style starter) — a process that is far quicker than that of certain vegan cheeses.
Some products, like one made by Violife and marketed as having “mozzarella flavor,” have almost the same number of components. Dreamfarm, however, claims that its imitation mozzarella has less fat and saturated fat than the competing product from Violife (which incorporates coconut oil).
“Typically in cheese made with plants… Menozzi counters that the startup’s strategy to create a “clean label” mozzarella substitute began by choosing ingredients that could be sourced locally in the Mediterranean area (such as almonds grown in Italy and Spain). “They use a lot of like coconut oil or other ingredients that are not super good for health,” Menozzi claims.
“The product basically has less than 1% saturated fat, so that was the main idea to change the category on both the taste and the ingredients,” he continues.
Dreamfarm’s plant-based mozzarella costs around the same as a “good buffalo mozzarella,” according to Menozzi. The product costs €3.60 for a 125g ball in Italy, where it was introduced to the market in May together with a plant-based spreadable cheese. (The vegan cheese spread is even less expensive; it costs only €2.99 at retail.)
Since the items and its food brand are still in their early stages, it is not yet releasing any sales figures. Menozzi notes that their plant-based mozzarella has been outselling competitor vegan mozzarella products five times in some shops. Customers, however, have been particularly enthusiastic about the vegan mozzarella, the more innovative of the two products.
Naturally, several internet influencers were also drawn to it. Additionally, a few pizza restaurant brands have already included their menu items. Vegan mozzarella from Dreamfarm on a pizza Pizzium Pizza Margherita
“We simply went viral with the mozzarella with a lot of influencers; we didn’t spend a single euro on marketing,” he claims. “We didn’t even send samples to them. They just went to the store, purchased a few pieces, and posted on Instagram to show off how absurd it is to remove real mozzarella from a liquid.
“People are visiting the supermarket to purchase the mozzarella product. They go there, buy five, and bring some mozzarella to friends and other people who enjoy it. Perhaps they are also traveling a great distance since we are not yet very widely spread. “Because it’s something really liked and still relatively new. However, mozzarella is more inventive than spread cheese because it resembles the mozzarella’s younger brother more,
Dreamfarm has announced the completion of a €5 million pre-seed round of funding. The funding comes from two local food-related business angels: Francesco Mutti, the CEO and owner of the Mutti Group, and Giampaolo Cagnin, a serial entrepreneur who founded Italiana Ingredients, Campus, and Hi-Food.
According to Menozzi, the initial part of the round concluded last year and was used to finance their first production facility partially. Additionally, he affirms that they intend to maintain internal production. However, the new round of money will grow the company’s European market; several items are currently available in Spain. Additionally, a distribution agreement has been signed to introduce its vegan mozzarella to Belgium.
The startup started in 2021 and spent the first two years or more conducting research and creating goods. However, part of the additional funds will also be used to support greater R&D. Dreamfarm, according to Menozzi, hopes to make vegan versions of burrata and stracciatella, two more traditional Italian cheeses. Additionally, he adds they could investigate plant-based yogurts. For now, though, the emphasis is firmly on cheese—more significantly, softer cheeses in the vein of mozzarella.
“At this time, we will concentrate on expanding our core competency, which is mozzarella, and create products that are almost identical to mozzarella,” he adds, adding that producing firmer vegan cheeses typically calls for fewer nutritious components.
Of course, making vegan mozzarella has its own set of difficulties, not the least of which is achieving the proper texture. For that reason, they began using the product. “To create the texture, a lot of trial and error was involved,” he continues.
Additionally, they are still adjusting the formula for their main product to see if they can increase shelf life without sacrificing the Nutri-Score, for example. Additionally, they are attempting to create a version that freezes well there.
Another factor to consider when aiming for the ideal (traditional) vegan Margherita pizza is how effectively the fake mozzarella melts. We also want to develop a legitimate pizza recipe. Naturally, less fat prevents it from melting at this time, as authentic mozzarella does. But it’s dissolving rather nicely,” he observes.
