Good Planet Foods

Market position

The company competes in the US dairy-free cheese category, where SPINS data cited by the Good Food Institute showed 2024 dollar sales falling 4% to $218 million and household penetration slipping to 4%, with dairy alternatives accounting for about 1% of the total cheese market, while repeat purchase rates rose from 48% in 2023 to 54% in 2024. Investors in its Series A described it as having the potential to become a leading brand in the plant-based category. Sector peers cited alongside it include Schuman's Vevan brand, Bel Group's Nurishh (being withdrawn), and Vertage Foods.

The company bases its cheese on olive oil rather than coconut or palm oil, citing taste, melt performance and minimal saturated fat, and formulates products to be free of gluten and a broad list of common allergens including nuts, seeds, soy and dairy, with vegan, non-GMO, Kosher, halal and in some cases Keto certifications. Press coverage noted it worked with both Beyond Meat (frozen pizza) and Impossible Foods (via White Castle's Impossible Slider).

Technology

Products are formulated with olive oil as the primary fat, combined with tapioca and potato starch and pea protein, engineered for melt performance and reduced saturated fat; earlier formulations used coconut oil. The joint venture is intended to support investment in new technologies and formulas for plant-based cheese.

Go-to-market

Distribution is through national and regional grocery retailers such as Walmart, Costco, Wegmans, ShopRite, Safeway, Price Chopper, Whole Foods and Bristol Farms, and online via Imperfect Foods, Instacart, Hungryroot, Misfits Market and PlantX. The company also uses foodservice and co-branding, including a White Castle test of its vegan cheddar with the Impossible Slider, and supports retail pull with coupons, a product request form for shoppers to ask stores to stock it, email and social channels, and recipe content.

Consumers seeking dairy-free, vegan or allergen-free cheese alternatives, including those with lactose intolerance or gluten, nut and other allergen sensitivities and those following Keto, Kosher or halal diets, reached through grocery retail; foodservice operators are addressed via the GPV Foods venture and quick-service partnerships.

Geography

The company is based in Bellevue, Washington, and sells across the United States, with products in over 1,200 retail doors nationwide as of August 2025 and named retailers including Walmart, Costco, Wegmans, ShopRite, Safeway, Price Chopper, Whole Foods and Bristol Farms. Manufacturing is in the USA using US and imported ingredients.

History

Good Planet Foods was founded by David Israel to offer plant-based alternatives to dairy cheese. It launched with coconut-oil-based products including shreds, slices, snackable wedges, smoked wheels and snack packs. In 2021 it announced a $12 million Series A led by Cleveland Avenue, around the same time that White Castle began testing its vegan cheddar with the Impossible Slider and the company announced a frozen pizza topped with its cheese and Beyond Meat sausage. In 2023 the company reformulated around olive oil in response to consumer feedback about saturated fat. In August 2025, described as an eight-year-old startup, it formed the GPV Foods joint venture with Schuman Cheese, a US dairy company operating since 1945 that entered plant-based with its Vevan brand in 2020.

Risks & controversies

The US vegan cheese category has faced weak retail performance, with 2024 dollar sales down 4% to $218 million and household penetration falling to 4%, prompting consolidation such as Bel Group's withdrawal of Nurishh. Regulatory risk includes the revived Dairy Pride Act, under which a bipartisan group of senators asked the FDA to bar terms such as 'milk', 'cheese' and 'yoghurt' on non-dairy products. The company's founder also signaled potential redundancies as part of the GPV Foods venture.