UK Grocery Chain Expands Vegan Cheese Line

British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s will add a vegan blue cheese flavor this fall to its existing private-labeled Deliciously FreeFrom line. The market launched the line last year and reported that sales of its vegan cheeses exceeded expectations by 300 percent. Sainsbury’s attributed some of the buzz around its vegan cheese line to an accidental marketing campaign wherein a disgruntled customer posted a 1,000-word comment on the company’s social media page last year stating that coconut-based cheese is not real cheese, suggesting that it should be called “Gary or something.” The company’s followers sarcastically adopted the name, and Sainsbury’s played along by photoshopping the word “Gary” onto packaging photos of its vegan cheeses. “When ‘Gary’ went viral last year, the positive response from customers was fantastic,” Sainsbury’s product developer Alexa Masterson said. With the addition of the new blue cheese flavor, Sainsbury’s line now includes eight plant-based options, including a cheddar-style with caramelized onions, soft cheese-style, and Greek-style feta.