Greece-based Violife’s vegan cheeses have arrived in stores across India.
The brand, which is popular in the U.S., the U.K., and on online marketplaces, had yet to make its Indian debut.
Violife claim its vegan cheese products are indistinguishable from dairy counterparts, that they’re so good “you won’t know it’s not made from milk,” reads one slogan. Violife’s range includes vegan mozzarella, cheddar, blue cheese, a variety of seasoned slices, a range of block flavors, grated cheeses, a feta-style product, and cream cheeses.
Violife also offers “chicken”-style deli slices, and in time for Christmas last year Violife partnered up with U.K. supermarket, Sainsbury’s, and released a vegan cheeseboard platter for holiday shoppers to enjoy.
Veganism in India has taken off as of late. The average Indian diet has become very Westernized over the last couple of decades, with many shifting toward more meat and processed foods, but a growing number of Indians are shifting back to the country’s plant-based ancestral roots.
Well-known Bollywood actor, Mallika Sherawat, will reportedly promote veganism as a “lifestyle choice,” in upcoming endeavors, and after recognizing the non-price parity between dairy-based products and plant-based products, a mother-and-son duo launched an affordable vegan milk brand.
Late last year, it was reported that the marketplace value of vegan cheese is set to reach almost $4 billion by 2024, as many more people are ditching dairy. Similarly, a “growth in consumer preference for vegan diet[s]” has been identified as a “major restraint,” in the growth of the dairy cheese market. For many, the shift from animal products to more plant-based foods stems from a rising awareness of the adverse health, ethical and environmental complications that have a direct link to cow milk cheese and its production. In fact, it has been observed that dairy sales for America’s largest milk supplier, Dean Foods, dropped by 91% last year.
Last year, a Forbes article warned that the Westernization of Indian diets – including animal products such as dairy and meat, could have a profound environmental impact on not only the country but the rest of the globe.
Image Credit: Violife
