Plant-based cheese company Willicroft secures €2m in seed round

Dutch plant-based cheese start-up Willicroft has raised €2 million in a seed investment round. 

Willicroft uses traditional techniques and plant-based ingredients, such as beans and pulses, to produce its dairy-free cheeses.

Paulig’s venture arm PINC and Rockstart led the company’s seed round, which also received participation from Döhler and Feast Ventures.

Willicroft will use the funds to expand into new markets, such as the Nordics, the UK and Germany.

“With this new raise locked in we’ll be bringing our delicious, beautifully branded range of plant-based cheese to three new markets: the UK, Germany and the Nordics, bringing in senior talent and continuing on our quest to become the world’s first net positive plant-based cheese company,” said Brad Vanstone, co-founder and CEO of Willicroft. 

“Our new investor group can help open up a number of new markets whilst also fast-tracking our products’ continued evolution.”

Mark Durno, managing partner agrifood at Rockstart, said: “Willicroft is taking plant-based dairy alternatives to the next level. Alongside making delicious products, they are helping farmers to transition to sustainable production by enabling a local supply chain without the need for monocropping or highly processed ingredients. 

“They have spent the last years understanding their consumers and their footprint, and the next phase will be to put those learnings to scale.”