The Very Good Food Company (VERY.C) inked a non-binding letter of intent to acquire Victoria-B.C. based plant-based cheese company The Cultured Nut today, according to a press release.

The Cultured Nut is an artisan vegan cheese manufacturer on Canada’s west coast. They have a tree-nut based product line of block style cheeses, cream cheese and plant-based that are soy and gluten free. The company has been selling The Cultured Nut’s vegan cheeses in its eCommerce and retail shops since September 2017 with excellent numbers and feedback.

“The proposed acquisition of The Cultured Nut marks VERY’s first move into the dairy alternatives space and is the next natural step towards achieving our near-term objective of being a leader in the plant-based food technology industry. With a shared ethos of using only high quality whole food ingredients, The Cultured Nut is a perfect addition to our existing and growing product portfolio. We have been selling their plant-based cheeses in our eCommerce and retail stores since September 2017, and have seen increased demand from consumers and highly positive reviews. We feel that by quickly integrating The Cultured Nut into our existing processes and distribution network, these synergies will allow us to scale their operations significantly and create a key, and entirely new revenue stream for our Company,” said Mitchell Scott, CEO of The Very Good Food Company.

The dairy alternatives market, which includes the plant-based and vegan sector, is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 11.2% from 2020 to 2027, reaching US$44.9 billion by 2027.

At the behest of popular sentiment regarding a burgeoning relatively new market in Alternative Foods, the Very Good Food company has found itself a wave to ride, having risen nearly 400% since October. Now they’re trading at $7.82, having risen 8.2% on the day or $0.59.

—Joseph Morton