Just as Australia’s oldest and largest dairy co-op, Norco, launches two alternative milks, along comes another iconic food and beverage company, Bega, announcing it has created a plant-based cheese.
Bega recently rebranded from Bega Cheese to Bega Group, and sold its share of Vitasoy to its joint-venture partner. During its investor call following the release of its interim FY23 results, CEO Pete Findlay told Food & Drink Business the Vitasoy sale freed the company to operate more broadly in the plant-based market.
“Part of the Vitasoy JV agreement, which came across with the acquisition from Lion Dairy & Drinks, limited us in just how much we could look at other plant-based opportunities. It is a sector we want to be highly involved in,” Findlay said.
The cheese is made in Bega’s Strathmerton factory and cut in the Bega Valley plant. It is the first plant-based cheese style range under the Bega name since it began in 1899.
Bega Plant Based Cheese is 100 per cent dairy free and made using five per cent fava bean protein. It comes in sliced and shredded formats.
Bega Foods general manager Marketing, Matt Gray, said it was an important evolution for the company to ensure it is well positioned to take advantage of the growing plant-based segment. It was also making Bega’s expertise available to those following a plant-based diet.
According to Mintel, 25 per cent of Australians are consuming plant-based dairy, whether they are vegans, vegetarians, or flexitarians.
Gray said, “We have credentials in cheese making and we’re excited to leverage this knowledge and expertise to create a great tasting dairy free range under the Bega brand.”
Bega Plant Based Cheese marketing manager, Niamh Farrell added, “Bega’s Plant Based Cheese range has undergone sensory testing to create a smooth, creamy, cheese-style product that delivers on texture and taste. It has a great cheesy flavour and most importantly, it melts in toasties!”
Bega is #5 on the Food & Drink Business 2022 Top 100 Food & Drink Companies report.
