Miyoko Schinner raises US$100,000 in bid to buy back vegan cheese company she founded

Plant-based cheese pioneer Miyoko Schinner has raised more than US$100,000 in just two days as part of a grassroots campaign to buy back Miyoko’s Creamery, the vegan dairy brand she founded more than a decade ago and was forced out of in 2022.

The fundraising effort, launched through GoFundMe, drew support from more than 1,600 backers after Schinner revealed that the company had entered the “assignment for the benefit of creditors” process – a mechanism allowing financially distressed businesses to sell their assets outside of formal bankruptcy proceedings. Schinner confirmed she submitted a bid to reacquire the company, though she acknowledged it was “highly unlikely” to be the winning offer.

“It is highly unlikely I will be the winning bidder, as the liquidator has a fiduciary responsibility to accept the highest bid,” she said. “There simply wasn’t enough time.”

Schinner founded Miyoko’s Creamery in 2014, building it into one of the most recognizable names in plant-based dairy. The company’s range of vegan cheeses and butters, made from cashew and oat milk, is sold in more than 20,000 retail outlets across the USA. At its peak, Miyoko’s was valued at around US$260 million and widely seen as a standard-bearer for the alt-dairy sector.

However, the company faced mounting financial challenges and underwent a turbulent leadership transition after Schinner was ousted by the board in mid-2022. The dispute led to a series of lawsuits between Schinner and the company that were later settled, but the founder said the experience left her deeply shaken.

“I found out about the auction through word of mouth,” she said. “It was shock, and honestly, PTSD for me.”

Despite those memories, Schinner said she felt compelled to act once she learned the business was being liquidated. “My hope is to make an impact not just for animals, but for the food system – to take it back from the venture capitalists, private equity, and the multinational corporations that are now running the food system and determining what we eat,” she wrote on the GoFundMe page.

To prepare her bid, she assembled a team of seasoned industry professionals, including co-packers and executives with decades of experience in food manufacturing. She envisioned a leaner, more collaborative organization focused on product integrity and mission-driven growth. “The idea is to form an organization that is more lateral and collaborative than top-down,” she explained.

If successful, Schinner said she would refocus the company’s product portfolio around cleaner, nutrient-dense recipes and a return to its activist roots. “I would re-infuse the brand with the bold activism that made it famous,” she said. “I would try to clean up what’s out there right now, and add to the line by launching clean, nutrient-dense products such as cottage cheese and improved formulas for favorites like mozzarella.”

Even as she awaited the outcome of the auction, Schinner expressed gratitude to the supporters who rallied around her. “The last 72 hours felt like a hurricane with 200 mph winds, but the bid is in, and now we wait,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “It’s a long shot, but it was a heroic effort by all of us.”

She added that the experience reaffirmed her commitment to food justice and animal welfare, regardless of the outcome. “Whether or not I reclaim the company, the work for animals and justice in the food system remain, and I will be at the forefront fighting for change in a way that hopefully inspires rather than chastises and shames.”

The founder is also preparing to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her animal sanctuary, Rancho Compasión, in Nicasio, California. As she reflected on the whirlwind of recent events, Schinner hinted that she may yet embark on a new venture if her bid to buy back Miyoko’s Creamery falls short.

“Although I thought I wouldn’t consider it, I might yet start something anew – a different sort of food company,” she said. “The kind I envision wouldn’t exist in the current consolidated food system, so I have to think deeply about how I can live my ethics within the one we currently have.”