Chilled food firm acquires plant-based cheese brand
THE Compleat Food Group, known for its brands such as Wall’s Pastry and Pork Farms has acquired the plant-based cheese brand Palace Culture.
This strengthens Compleat’s plant-based offering, adding to its existing Squeaky Bean range of meat alternatives as well as chilled pickles and ferments brand, Vadasz.
Yvonne Adam, chief marketing officer at Compleat Food Group, said: “Palace Culture was a natural choice to add to our portfolio of leading and distinctive brands that always bring something unique to the table, due to its high quality, exciting product offering and potential for growth.
“All of this supports our wider strategy and ambition to become the UK’s number one chilled prepared food company.”
Palace Culture was first established in 2018 by founder Mirko Parmigiani, who aimed to create more sustainable plant-based cheese options for his dairy intolerant son.
Getting its initial start as a stall at Crystal Palace farmer’s market, the brand has now grown its presence across the UK and is stocked across a number of independent outlets and stores.
The brand has now won a number of Great Taste Awards, including two ‘Two Star’ awards in the Great Taste Awards 2023 for its Almond Feta and Mouldy Goaty plant-based cheeses.
Parmigiani said: “Having seen how The Compleat Food Group has worked with the likes of Vadasz to retain its authenticity and incredible quality, we’re excited for the next chapter of Palace Culture’s evolution and to use The Compleat Food Group’s expertise to continue to innovate and introduce even more people to the world of plant-based vegan cheeses.”
Adam said: “Plant-based cheese is a fast growing, but relatively untapped, market and there is plenty of consumer appetite for genuinely delicious vegan cheeses.
“We’re now looking forward to using our expertise and scale to introduce shoppers to Palace Culture’s unique range of incredibly tasty products that we know they will love, and we hope to able to announce additional listings shortly.”
