Bel Brands Launches Vegan Cheese. So, Where’s the Babybel?

Bel Brands Launches Vegan Cheese. So, Where’s the Babybel?

Bel Brands USA is launching its own vegan cheese brand. According to the company, which manufactures popular dairy products Laughing Cow and Mini Babybel, the new plant-based products taste and melt like dairy-based cheese.

“It’s a milestone day for Bel Brands USA as we have launched our first exclusively plant-based brand, Nurishh,” the company shared on Twitter. “This move solidifies Bel’s mission to expand beyond dairy to diversify within the healthy snacking market and meet consumers’ needs.”

The company’s first 100 percent plant-based brand, Nurishh is available as slices and shreds in six different varieties. The former includes cheddar, mozzarella, and provolone style slices. And the shreds come in cheddar, mozzarella, as well as a cheddar and mozzarella blend.

Nurishh launches at Amazon Fresh and at select retailers in April 2021. Availability in stores will also increase nationwide throughout the year.

Bel Brands Launches Vegan Cheese. So, Where’s the Babybel?
In 2020, Bel Group revealed it would be launching vegan Babybel cheese. | Nurishh

Bel Digs Into Vegan Cheese

According to business consulting firm Grand View Research, the global vegan cheese market is booming. 

It valued the industry at more than $1 billion in 2019 and projects it to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.8 percent from 2020 to 2027.

Bel Group—which Bel Brands USA is the U.S. subsidiary of—is certainly working to meet the growing demand for plant-based cheese. In October 2020, the multinational French cheese giant revealed plans to launch vegan Mini Babybel cheese, as well as vegan Boursin soft cheese at Amazon Fresh.

In a press release, the company also announced that it would launch a vegan offering for each of its core brands, including The Laughing Cow.

Back in 2019, Bel revealed its new signature: “For All. For Good.” The slogan represents the company’s commitment to becoming a healthier, more sustainable company.

“Five generations into its history, our company has reached a milestone,” Antoine Fievet, Chairman and CEO of the Bel, said in a statement. “We are today confronted with the challenge of feeding a growing world population, while preserving our planet’s resources. The food business model that we all know is obsolete. It’s time to open the road to healthier and responsible food for all. And we food manufacturers must provide real answers.”