The new dairy-free Kraft NotCheese Slices are made of chickpea and coconut oil and have no artificial flavours or dyes.

The Kraft Heinz Company is launching vegan cheese slices after partnering with Chile’s The Not Company (NotCo).

The companies teamed up last year to develop co-branded plant-based products in a bid to “reshape the food landscape and set a new standard for plant-based innovation.”

The new vegan Kraft NotCheese Slices are crafted with high-quality plant-based ingredients like chickpea and coconut oil and are free from artificial flavours or dyes. They are available in three flavours: American, provolone, and cheddar.

Kraft Heinz X NotCo

The recipe was developed using NotCo’s AI technology programme, Giuseppe – which ‘analyses the structure of an animal-based food at its molecular level and replicates it using plant-based ingredients’.

“With our expertise in cheese, we were able to create a slice that tastes delicious cold and melts in all your favourite recipes,” Lucho Lopez-May, CEO of the Kraft Heinz Not Company said.

The launch comes after a successful eight-week trial in Cleveland, OH  last fall. During that trial, the slices became the top-selling branded plant-based slices in dollar sales.

“Kraft NotCheese Slices is the second product hitting shelves [following NotMayo in March 2023] and the first nationally distributed since the joint venture was announced in 2022,” Lopez-May added.

“We are achieving this launch in record time using our agile ways of working and combining NotCo’s expertise with the scale and power of the Kraft Heinz brand portfolio.”

The highly sought-after cheese will hit stores nationwide on 7th July.

Big brands eyeing the plant-based market

It’s not just Kraft launching plant-based products in supermarket fridges. Babybel and Boursin have also released plant-based versions of their famous cheese products.

Philadelphia too has plant-based spreads that are like their cream cheeses.

Earlier this month Oatly announced that it is launching an oat-based version of the famous Philadelphia cream cheese. The Swedish brand’s oat-based spreads will be available in two different flavours: Plain and Chive & Onion flavours and will roll out nationwide through the second half of the year.

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