Violife Enters the Vegan Butter Market With New Vioblock
Vegan favorite Violife just debuted its first vegan butter, providing plant-based consumers in the United Kingdom with another plant-based butter option. Vioblock will become available at Asda stores in the UK this week, marketed as a butter substitute fortified with several key nutrients.
Violife’s butter alternative will be enriched with vitamins B1, B2, B6, and B12, using a mixture of coconut oil, sunflower oil, and rapeseed oil to create a buttery, spreadable texture. Vioblock replicates the same physical appearance of butter with the ability to melt, spread, and bake, but more importantly Violife claims to have successfully developed vegan butter with the familiar and cherished flavor.
“Launching our first butter alternative Vioblock is a milestone moment for Violife as we look to expand our product offering further within the dairy alternatives category,” UK Marketing Manager for Violife Bianca Harris said. “Always 100-percent vegan, Vioblock stays true to the core values of Violife, in that they are suitable for everyone to enjoy regardless of their dietary requirements and perform just as you would expect.”
The vegan company’s product selection predominantly includes plant-based cheeses, meaning the introduction of Vioblock is a shift to expand the brand’s range. Founded in the 1990s, the Greece-based company set out determined to provide plant-based cheese to the world. Since then, the company’s products have become available in more than 50 countries worldwide. The plant-based cheese company’s products became widely available in the United States in 2018 when Whole Foods Market began distributing the product across its stores.
Violife’s vegan cheese line offers dairy-free cheese in several varieties including cheese blocks, slices, wedges, and spread. The cheese styles also come in several flavors from cheddar and mozzarella to feta and provolone. Within the US, the company offers cream cheeses, cheddar slices and blocks, feta blocks, and parmesan wedges. Now, the company is experimenting with other forms of dairy alternatives, broadening the brand’s holdings in the vegan markets.
“With dairy alternatives out-growing the dairy sector by almost three to one, yet representing only five percent of the total dairy sector, there is sizable headroom for growth of the dairy alternatives sector and expansion for Violife beyond the dairy alternative to cheese category,” Harris said. “Whether flexitarian, vegan, or vegetarian, we look forward to introducing supporters of the brand to an expanded product range in the future.”
Harris believes that the company’s new vegan butter presents the brand with new opportunities for its future. The company released another product outside of the vegan cheese sectors last year with its vegan chocolate spread named Cocospread. The chocolate spread consists of coconut oil, cocoa powder, dried banana powder, and coconut oil enhanced by other flavorings to create its sweet, chocolatey flavor. The company initially released the product in the UK, but since then it has reached American retailers.
The vegan butter market is rapidly expanding since Unilever released its “It’s Vegan” I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter in 2017. Other companies have spent the last decade developing vegan butter for plant-based consumers including Califia Farms, Milkamaia, Flora, Miyoko’s Creamery, Earth Balance, and Melt Organic. With Violife’s previous patterns, it’s possible US markets will see another vegan market hit the market with the introduction of the company’s Vioblock.
Sandra Oh and 20 Others It Might Surprise You to Learn Are Plant-Based
1. Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney is no stranger to a meat-free life as he's been vegetarian for 45 years. He initially went vegetarian in 1975 with his first wife Linda McCartney and began his advocacy for animal rights.
2. Sia
If you find yourself constantly singing along to the song The Greatest, then you're already a Sia fan. Sia tweeted that she is "fully vegan now" back in 2014 and stays true to her word
3. Sandra Oh
Way back at the start of Grey's Anatomy, Sandra Oh took the cast out for a plant-based lunch at Truly Vegan in Hollywood. In her effort to inspire contemporaries to eat vegan, the TV star is known to invite her friends for vegan meals that are delicious. She adopted the vegan lifestyle years ago and continues to quietly live a cruelty-free life.
4. Gisele Bündchen
Giselle revealed that when she was at the peak of her modeling career, her diet consisted of "cigarettes, wine, and mocha Frappuccinos," according to an interview in People Magazine. Now 39 and the mother of two children, Gisele eats a "mostly" plant-based diet to nourish her body and stay fueled.
5. Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin has made a bigger commitment to plant-based eating since he was first told by doctors that he was pre-diabetic and needed to change his diet. That was decades ago. But, over the last few years, he's been vocal about the benefits not only to his health but also the impact plant-based eating has on the environment.
7. Pamela Anderson
We all remember Pamela Anderson as the curvaceous blonde in the hit series Baywatch as she played Casey Jean in the red one-piece swimsuit that brought her world-class fame. She is a life-long active animal rights advocate and teamed up with PETA to join the Animal Protection Organization.
8. Kristen Stewart
"We shouldn't eat as much meat guys," Kristen Stewart told GQ in an interview in January. The Twilight star has made a full 180 from vampire to vegan. When she appeared on the game show "Hot Ones" she chose to skip the wings and instead compete by eating increasing spicier sauce on vegan cauliflower wings.
9. Jared Leto
This award-winning actor eats a high-protein diet consisting of only plants. Leto, who has been plant-based for 20 years, says it keeps him "shredded" in an interview. Now, 48, Leto looks half his age.
10. Jaden Smith
Jaden Smith switched up his diet from vegan to vegetarian, meaning that he doesn't eat meat but does eat dairy from time to time. In a recent article by Plant Based News, Smith admits he skipped meals and was not getting the proper nutrition when he was vegan, but this hasn't stopped him from espousing the plant-based life.
11. Meghan Markle
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex has never admitted to being fully vegan, but sources say, she eats a plant-based diet most days during the week. She is teaching Prince Harry vegan cooking and in a Plant-Based News article, Markle explained how she hopes to raise baby Archie on a mostly vegan diet.
12. Serena Williams
As a professional athlete, fueling the body is a key factor to Willaim's successes. In a Bon Appetite article, she explained that she adopted a plant-based diet back in 2012, she was eating a lot "healthier" for her sister, Venus, who eats a strict vegan diet for health reasons.
13. John Mackey
The popular grocery store, Whole Foods Market sells vegan products and nonvegan products which arises black lash from ethical vegans as CEO John Mackey follows a strict vegan diet. The successful businessman grew up in Houston Texas and told Business Insider that he would traditionally eat processed foods for dinner while watching TV with his family. Now, Mackey steers clear from the processed isle and eats a clean vegan diet and feels amazing at the age of 65.
14. Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz, singer of the popular song, I'm Yours, committed to a vegan diet to support his friend diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Mraz says he eats mostly raw food and told magazine sources his favorite vegan dish is "Chocomole, a mixture of avocados, dates, cacao, agave nectar, and coconut oil."
15. Leona Lewis
Long time vegan, Leona Lewis grew up in a vegan household and continues to eat a plant-based diet. Lewis first adopted the diet at 12 when she learned about the health risks of eating animal products but told Women's Health Magazine she occasionally eats an omelet. She also mentioned her 2:30 lunch is normally a kale salad topped with dried cranberries and she loves a veggie stir-fry for dinner.
16. Hannah Teter
Hannah Teter changed her diet after watching the documentary, Earthlings when she discovered how "horrible" factory farming is. After a strict vegetarian diet, Teter liked the way she performed as an athlete and believes that her diet helped her win gold at the 2006 games.
17. Maggie Q,
You may recognize Maggie Q as the star of the Nikita series, but in the plant-based world, she's well-known for her heroic activism. Maggie Q has followed a strict vegan diet for 19 years, making her a true veteran of the lifestyle. She made the plant-based diet transition because she felt sluggish and had low energy, she has said. The famous actress keeps in shape by eating veggies and plant-based protein and working out with a passion.
18. Madelaine Petsch,
Winner of the first Masterchef vegan cook-off with Gordon Ramsay, Madelaine Petsch was raised vegetarian and went completely vegan at age 14. She claims that she started this diet before it was "trendy" and shot a campaign for PETA last year wearing a dress made of bok choy. Petsch says her vegan diet allows her to feel "healthier" and not "lethargic."
19. Millie Bobbi Brown
After doing a little sleuthing on her social media platforms we think Millie Bobbi Brown qualifies as plant-based. Whether or not she is actually skipping all meat and dairy, one thing is for sure: She eats mostly salads, vegetables and grains and lives a predominantly plant-based lifestyle full of healthy foods.
20. Chloe and Halle Bailey
The grammy-nominated sisters went vegan for a week with their mom but liked it so much they decided to stick with it. For one thing, it helps keep their "voices in shape" by eating a vegan diet and they emphasize the fact that dairy helps to limit extra mucus build-up, according to a PETA interview.
21. Hilary Duff
Best known for her role as Lizzie Mcguire in the long-running series, Hilary Duff is a recent vegan advocate and entrepreneur. She recently launched the vegan and cruelty-free eyeshadow palette, "Day Dreamer" and changed her diet to plant-based last fall.