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Plant-based group The Very Good Food Company has completed its acquisition of The Cultured Nut, an artisan vegan cheese producer in Canada, for an aggregate price of CAD$3m (approximately US$2.4m).  The Cultured Nut, which sells its products through several online and grocery platforms such as Whole Foods, creates products including block-style cheese, cream cheese, as well as plant-based butter, among other products.  The acquisition will enable Very Good Food to capitalise on the growing dairy alternatives market, which is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.2% between 2020-2027 to reach US$44.9 billion by 2027.  Very will rebrand Cultured Nut's line under a new name, The Very Good Cheese Company, which is expected to launch in Q2 2021 through the company's ecommerce and wholesale distribution networks.  Very also hopes to scale Cultured Nut's existing production facility to over 100,000 units per month this year and in 2022.

“The acquisition of Cultured Nut allows Very to efficiently enter into the dairy alternatives space,” said Mitchell Scott, CEO of Very. “This is a significant milestone in the realisation of our long-term strategy of owning several brands under the banner of the Very Good Food Company in all major food categories providing consumers fun, innovative and healthier plant-based alternatives to everyday animal-based products.”