Study finds that placing vegan cheese in the dairy aisle increases sales

A newly released study by The Plant Based Food Association featuring vegan cheese brand Violife, has discovered that sales and shopper favourability increases when plant-based cheese is positioned alongside dairy-based cheese in supermarkets. The investigation placed Violife in the dairy aisle at 2,000 Albertsons grocery stores in the US. Remarkably, the experiment saw exponential growth in number of Violife products sold and a rise in dollars made; even now, following the study, the repositioned Violife is far overtaking its vegan cheese sales prior to the move.

Essentially, the investigation uncovered that more shoppers are likely to serendipitously try vegan foods if they are easy to find and alongside their usual non-vegan buys, since few non-vegan customers will make a special visit to the vegan aisle for themselves. Andy Reichgut, general manager at Violife comments: “At Violife, we have always felt plant-based cheese should be merchandised where consumers shop for cheese — in the dairy section. Shoppers have been trained to find dairy alternatives in the dairy section, and most households consume both dairy and plantbased cheese (more than 57 per cent). The data is clear; retailers win with stronger growth and profitability, consumers win with an improved shopping experience, and the planet wins with increased consumption of vegan cheese!”

Following the study, Violife expects to see continued gains as more supermarkets move vegan cheese to the dairy aisle.