![a-de123](https://cdn.perishablenews.com/2021/10/a-de123.jpg)
LOS ANGELES — Leading plant-based pioneer Follow Your Heart continues to meet unprecedented consumer demand for more delicious dairy-free alternatives by adding three first-of-their-kind cheeses to its popular plant-based cheese line up.
Follow Your Heart Dairy-Free Bleu Cheese Crumbles is the first-to-market dairy-free blue cheese crumbles product to hit retail shelves. This latest crumble innovation follows the company’s wildly popular Dairy-Free Feta Crumbles, which debuted last year. They are luxurious, creamy, and crumbly, just like the real thing. Delicious in salads, tarts and crostini, or sprinkled on a pizza, this delightful blue cheese comes in 6 oz. tubs and is available this month at Whole Foods Market, Stater Bros., and at select Acme and Safeway stores in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
As the only dairy-free cheeses on the market that are finely shredded, Follow Your Heart’s Dairy-Free Finely Shredded Cheddar is delectable in quesadillas and mac-n-cheese and the Dairy-Free Finely Shredded Mozzarella is excellent for pizza and lasagna. Both are rich and creamy, offer an exceptional melt as well as stretch, and are equally delicious served cold. They come in 7 oz. packages and are available nationwide at select retailers including Sprouts, Vons, Albertsons, Wegmans, and Walmart.
“We’ve rewritten the rule book with this trio of cheeses to close a wide gap in the dairy-free cheese category and further satisfy the increasing demand for plant-based alternatives,” said Bob Goldberg, CEO and co-founder, Follow Your Heart. “Our new Finely Shredded Cheeses are not only rich and creamy, they have an unbelievable melt. Plus, our new lusciously creamy Bleu Cheese Crumbles are a game changer and will have dairy cheese consumers switching without any sacrifice.”
The launch of these new dairy-free cheeses come at a time when demand is the highest ever for plant-based options. According to an August 2021 Bloomberg Intelligence Report, sales of plant-based dairy and meat alternatives reached $29.4 billion in 2020, and could increase fivefold to $162 billion by 2030, comprising 7.7 percent of the global protein market.
Restaurants and consumer packaged goods companies are enthusiastic about the new Follow Your Heart plant-based cheeses. National pizza chain, Mellow Mushroom, offers vegan options using Follow Your Heart’s new dairy-free mozzarella, and Banza, the rapidly growing maker of chickpea-based pasta and pizza, featured the mozzarella on their new Plant-Based Cheese pizza as well. Additionally, Veggie Grill is highlighting the Dairy-Free Bleu Cheese Crumbles on its new steakhouse burgers in all locations.
“Follow Your Heart’s new dairy-free mozzarella hits all of the ingredient quality standards we take pride in at Mellow Mushroom,” said Anne Mejia, Vice President, brand development, Mellow Mushroom. “The taste and compatibility with our Mellow Mushroom crust and red sauce really hits the mark and our customers are already commenting that it is delicious on our stone-baked pies.”
All three new cheeses are vegan and are free of dairy, soy, casein, gluten, lactose and preservatives and are made with high-quality Non-GMO ingredients. They perform beautifully in terms of taste and texture and are available just in time for hearty fall cooking and the upcoming holiday season. The new line up joins the other popular Follow Your Heart Dairy-Free cheeses such as the Feta Crumbles, Parmesan, and a variety of slices.
“We hope our consumers enjoy our new cheeses on their plant-based pizzas, tacos, salads, burgers and much more,” said Goldberg. “It has always been part of our mission at Follow Your Heart to create high-quality vegan foods that enhance the lives of our consumers, and we believe these cheeses will make it easier and more accessible to make delicious plant-based foods.”
About Follow Your Heart:
For more than 50 years, Follow Your Heart has established itself as a leader in the dairy-free, plant-based industry. Committed to environmentally sustainable business practices, Follow Your Heart manufactures its products in its Los Angeles-based solar-powered facility called Earth Island® which has been distinguished as Platinum-level Zero Waste certified, the highest possible status, under the TRUE (Total Resource Use and Efficiency) certification system. Follow Your Heart’s signature products include Vegenaise®, Dairy-Free Cheeses, VeganEgg®, Salad Dressings, Dairy-Free Yogurt, Cream Cheese, and Sour Cream, all of which are naturally dairy-, gluten- and cholesterol-free and made with all-natural, Non-GMO ingredients.