Startup Makes Vegan Dairy Indulgences that Mimic Cow’s Milk

San Francisco-based startup Willow Cup will launch a vegan line of “dairy indulgences” that are meant to be indistinguishable from cow’s milk. The company will debut its vegan bottled Whipped Latte in Bay Area stores this year with ice creams, frostings, and coffee creamers to follow in 2017. Willow Cup Founder Sara Bonham—a former General Mills employee—revealed that the process of creating the company’s products involves extracting the proteins and fats of almonds, cashews, potatoes, chickpeas, and other plant-based foods and recombining them to resemble the consistency and molecular structure of dairy milk. According to Bonham, the process creates a stable molecular structure that will not curdle in hot beverages such as coffee. After sampling a cup, Tech Insider writer Melia Robinson said, “I would gladly swap out my Starbucks Frappuccino for a Whipped Latte knowing it was better for the environment.” Recent innovations in the booming alternative dairy sector include the launch of pea protein-based milk by Ripple, nitro-brewed lattes by Califia Farms, and bio-engineered milk by Muufri.