New Yorkers love free food. They also love pizza. Perhaps no one loves pizza more. As a group, those who call the Big Apple home eat more than 500,000 pizza pies every year, most of them loaded with gooey melted cheese and toppings like pepperoni. But if you are avoiding dairy (either because you're lactose intolerant, have a milk allergy, or are vegan) there is rarely a decent option. Until now.

To prove the point that dairy-free cheese pizza can be delicious, and taste as good as the classic mozzarella on your pie, vegan dairy brand Pleese Cheese is giving away free slices of their vegan pie at two locations in Brooklyn.

Here are the details. To celebrate National Pizza Month (okay, so they're jumping in a little early since it is October), Pleese Cheese will be handing out free plant-based non-dairy pizza slices while supplies last starting today, Friday, September 16th, and continuing tomorrow, Saturday, September 17th. Key point: While supplies last, so don't hesitate!

Customers looking for free samples should head over to Underground Pizza and Vito's Slices and Ices starting today at lunchtime.

The Addresses and Times for Free Pizza Slices Are:

Friday: Underground Pizza will serve up the vegan slices from 12 PM to 1 PM, at 3 Hanover Square at 2A Williams Street; New York, NY 10004

Saturday:  Vito's Slices and Ices will give away free slices tomorrow from 3 PM to 4 PM at 464 9th Ave New York, NY 10018.

Pleese Cheese gives out free pizza
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New Yorkers love free food. They also love pizza. As a group, those who call the Big Apple home eat more than 500,000 pizza pies every year, most of them loaded with gooey melted cheese and toppings like pepperoni. But if you are avoiding dairy (either because you're lactose intolerant, have a milk allergy, or are vegan) there is rarely a decent option. Until now.

To prove the point that dairy-free cheese pizza can be delicious, and taste as good as the classic mozzarella on your pie, vegan dairy brand Pleese Cheese is giving away free slices of their vegan pie at two locations in Brooklyn.

 

Dairy-Free Pizza Free of Soy, Nuts, and Other Allergens

How did Pleese Cheese get started? By two founders who needed a dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free option, so they started their own. Missing their favorite food (cheese pizza), founders Kobi and Abev Regev set out to recreate the iconic taste of New York Style pizza with their new vegan cheese. The Pleese products provide customers with a soy-, dairy-free, nut- and gluten-free option that melts just like traditional cheese.

Pleese Cheese's recipes feature a blend of non-GMO ingredients, including potatoes, and faba beans. In 2020, the vegan brand partnered with several pizzerias to prove the taste and texture would satisfy New York pizza lovers. Now, following successful trial runs, the vegan brand hopes to encourage the massive population of pizza eaters to try a more sustainable option.

“Consumers don’t want soy cheese, and restaurant operators don’t want to mess around with a strange liquidy format, they want something simple, allergen friendly that tastes good on food and that’s what we’ve created,” Regev said last month in a statement.

Pleese Cheese Pizza Available Online

Can't make the free pizza events? Last month, Pleese Cheese partnered with the online retailer Webstaraunt Store for its plant-based cheese. Customers previously located outside of the distribution zone can now order innovative vegan mozzarella shreds in bulk packs. The company said that it will release smaller packages at supermarkets in 2023.

“The hardest challenge hasn’t been developing the product or finding customers, it’s been connecting with distributors who understand and appreciate this growing market,” Regev said last month.

“They generally do not have the energy to bring on a new product, and although their customers do not like the vegan options they sell, no one has a choice due to these distributors. That’s why we are extremely happy to now be available through Webstaurantstore.com because with them we don’t have to worry about the middle man and can focus directly on the consumer.”

According to the company, restaurants may be losing up to $3,000 a month by not offering vegan options on their menus. Pleese Cheese aims to encourage pizzerias everywhere to adopt plant-based cheese options to bring in more clientele that otherwise could not order anything at the restaurant.

Vegan Pizza is Coming to a Pizzeria Near You

This month, several brands have tapped into the plant-based pizza market including Blackbird Foods and vegan cheese giant Daiya. Americans currently spend $4.4 billion on frozen pizza every year, but until recently, vegan options were difficult to find. Target will begin offering two vegan pizzas from Blackbird foods at 300 locations this October. Now, plant-based shoppers can find the Supreme and Margherita options at over 2,000 retailers across the United States.

Daiya just unveiled three new vegan flatbreads featuring its award-winning Cutting Board Shreds. The three flatbreads will be available at Stop & Shop, Giant, Whole Foods, New Seasons Market, and Price Chopper locations across North America. The three pizzas will be available for $9.79 online.

For more great products, check out The Beet's rankings of frozen vegan pizzas and dairy-free cheese shreds.

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