‘Butiful sheese’ – the tasty tang of success from the Scottish Isles

Perhaps it’s a sign of the times that Bute Island Foods has won a 2021 Queen’s Award for
international trade for the range of vegan cheese they manufacture. Maybe so, but more likely though, it is recognition of an excellence and appeal that has finally matured since the company’s formation in 1988.

Plant based

Despite being around for thousands of years, the vegan diet only became mainstream in the 2010s – also some 80 years after the Vegan Society was formed – and in the last year it seems really to have tickled the tastebuds and, importantly, the conscience.
Bute Island Foods was created over a kitchen table with their hand-crafted revolutionary alternative to Cheddar, Scheese – now Sheese – a soya-based product that has spawned multiple variations in different flavours from Melty Sheese to spreadable Creamy Sheese from Grated Sheese to Sheese slices.

Exports

Catching on quickly initially in Europe, production soared and fast forward to now, it’s available in multiple export markets, like Australia, the US and Canada, and the Middle East. In the process
supermarket giants like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, Asda, and Waitrose have discovered its tang taste sensations, while it is also now readily found on the high street in leading health stores. Bute Island Foods even helped Tesco land the Healthy Cheese Retailer of the Year award in 2017.

Naturally, they’ve also won some awards themselves, too numerous to mention here, but more than 30, in the UK and overseas.

Pizza

In 2019, Bute Island Foods went further, announcing that they were working with pizza chain Papa John’s to provide Sheese for their range of vegan pizzas and side dishes.

Nigel White, marketing director at Bute, said: “For four decades we have worked hard to make
and develop new vegan foods, because it’s something we really care about.
“We care passionately about animals, and fervently about making healthy foods for people who are want to limit their dairy consumption. Over the years the appeal of the dairy-free lifestyle has resonated further and further around the
globe. It’s made us an international company of which we are both immensely proud and grateful. 

“This award is testament to the passion of our workforce who under challenging circumstances
have put in maximum effort to ensure we keep on providing what people need.”

Bute Island Sheese | Dairy-Free Vegan Cheese