In an inconspicuous industrial building nestled in Stratford, east London, British startup Better Dairy is pioneering a revolutionary approach to cheese production—creating authentic-tasting cheese that has never required a single cow. This represents just one ambitious venture among a growing number of companies worldwide racing to deliver laboratory-cultivated cheese to consumer dining tables within the coming years.
The Current Market Reality: A Challenging Landscape
However, the path to widespread acceptance faces significant headwinds. Recent market data reveals a concerning trend away from meat-free alternatives, according to comprehensive analysis by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
The statutory research organization reports that plant-based cheese sales across the United Kingdom plummeted by 25.6 percent during the first quarter of 2025, while traditional cow’s cheese sales experienced a robust 3 percent growth during the same period.
Understanding Consumer Resistance
The AHDB attributes this decline to several interconnected factors. Primarily, the organization notes that Britain’s vegan population remains remarkably small—comprising just 1 percent of the total population according to their data, though the Vegan Society contests this figure, claiming 3 percent. Regardless of the precise number, vegans represent a dramatically smaller demographic compared to traditional dairy cheese consumers, and this population has experienced slight contraction recently.
The Vegan Society maintains that the meat-free food market remains both “competitive” and stable, despite these challenging statistics.
Additional market pressures stem from consumer concerns regarding health and pricing. A recent government survey identified ultra-processing—a significant challenge facing vegan cheese production—as consumers’ second-greatest food concern, surpassed only by cost considerations. The AHDB confirms that plant-based cheese alternatives typically command higher prices than conventional cow’s cheese.
Industry Optimism Despite Market Headwinds
Nevertheless, several innovative companies view the upcoming years as presenting unprecedented opportunities for market transformation.
In the Netherlands, Those Vegan Cowboys anticipates launching its cheese products in the United States later this year, with European market entry planned for three to four years hence, contingent upon navigating complex regulatory requirements. Laboratory-produced cheeses require classification as “novel foods,” necessitating comprehensive EU approval processes before commercial sales can commence.
Chief Executive Hille van der Kaa acknowledges the currently subdued appetite for vegan cheese alternatives but envisions her company spearheading a “silent revolution” by strategically substituting cheeses in applications where consumers remain largely unconscious of their choices.
“If you buy frozen pizza, you don’t really think of what kind of cheese is on that,” she explains with strategic insight. “So it’s quite easy to swap.”
Meanwhile, French firm Standing Ovation has outlined ambitious expansion plans, targeting US market entry next year followed by UK and European launches in 2027.
Strategic Partnerships and Production Scaling
Both Better Dairy and Those Vegan Cowboys have established strategic partnerships with established cheese producers to facilitate production scaling while maintaining cost competitiveness. Standing Ovation has already secured a significant partnership with Bel, the renowned makers of BabyBel cheese.
Standing Ovation’s CEO Yvan Chardonnens characterizes the recent market unpopularity as representing the first wave of vegan cheese “analogues” failing due to quality limitations, expressing optimism that subsequent development phases will deliver substantial improvements.
The London Laboratory Experience
Back in Stratford, Better Dairy has deliberately postponed its commercial launch due to current prohibitive production costs. However, Chief Executive Jevan Nagarajah anticipates market entry within three to four years, when he projects pricing will approach levels found in specialty cheese shops before eventually reaching supermarket-competitive prices.
Better Dairy extended an invitation for firsthand product evaluation—an opportunity for this committed carnivore and dairy enthusiast to critically assess their innovative cheese alternatives.
Currently, the company focuses exclusively on cheddar production, identifying vegan hard cheeses as exhibiting the most significant “quality gap” compared to traditional dairy varieties. While they have successfully produced blue cheese, mozzarella, and soft cheese varieties, the company argues that dairy proteins contribute less significantly to taste profiles in these categories.
The Science Behind Lab-Grown Cheese
The production process begins with genetically modified yeast engineered to produce casein—milk’s essential protein—instead of alcohol. Jevan explains that this technique mirrors the established method for producing insulin without requiring extraction from pigs.
Alternative approaches employed by competing companies utilize bacteria or fungi for casein production.
Once precision fermentation generates casein, it combines with plant-based fats and other essential milk components required for cheese production, after which traditional cheese-making processes proceed normally.
The Taste Test Verdict
Having sampled Better Dairy’s three-month, six-month, and twelve-month aged cheddars, I can confirm they delivered flavor profiles closer to authentic dairy cheese than any previous alternatives I’ve encountered. The younger cheese exhibited slightly more rubbery characteristics than typical, while the aged varieties presented more pronounced saltiness. Importantly, the cheese demonstrated excellent melting properties when tested on a burger.
Addressing Health and Processing Concerns
Beyond current market challenges including shrinking vegan demographics, taste considerations, quality issues, and pricing pressures, these companies must also navigate growing consumer concerns regarding ultra-processed foods.
Industry advocates argue that laboratory-produced cheese offers significant health advantages, including lactose elimination, cholesterol absence, and reduced saturated fat content compared to traditional dairy alternatives. They also emphasize that all cheese production involves processing to some degree.
Precision fermentation technology may enable producers to eliminate many ultra-processed elements currently present in existing vegan cheese alternatives.
Challenging Consumer Perceptions
Hille suggests that consumer resistance partly stems from perceptual issues. She argues that people maintain a “romanticised view” of dairy farming despite its transformation into a “totally industrialised” operation—a perspective supported by AHDB polling data showing 71 percent of consumers perceive dairy as natural.
“I wouldn’t say that’s really a traditional, natural type of food,” Hille contends, referring to modern dairy production methods.
“We do have an important task to show people how cheese is made nowadays.”
The Road Ahead: Revolution or Evolution?
Whether these ambitious efforts will yield market success or commercial disappointment remains uncertain. However, the convergence of advancing biotechnology, evolving consumer preferences, and mounting environmental concerns suggests that laboratory-grown cheese may eventually find its place in the broader food ecosystem.
The companies leading this charge face the formidable challenge of simultaneously improving product quality, reducing production costs, navigating regulatory frameworks, and shifting deeply entrenched consumer perceptions about what constitutes “natural” food.
As these innovative dairy alternatives approach commercial viability, their success will likely depend not just on replicating the taste and texture of traditional cheese, but on convincing consumers that laboratory-produced alternatives represent a superior choice for health, environmental, and ethical reasons.
The question remains: when lab-grown cheese finally reaches supermarket shelves, will consumers be ready to embrace this technological transformation of one of humanity’s oldest foods?
Author: AI
Published:July 13, 2025