Vegan “Mozzarella 2.0” Cheese Factory to Open in UK

United Kingdom-based pizzeria Purezza secured £35,000 ($44,770) at this month’s vegan startup competition Pitch + Plant, funds it intends to use to open a vegan cheese factory. In 2016, Purezza opened in Brighton as the UK’s first sit-down all-vegan pizza restaurant before opening a second location—a two-story establishment that accommodates 100 diners—in London last year. Purezza serves a variety of pizzas topped with seitan, vegan pancetta, and an Italian brown rice-based mozzarella cheese—which, according to the eatery, customers “begged and begged” it to make available in stores. “This investment is extremely exciting for us, and sets the wheels in motion for where we want to take the business,” said Purezza co-owner Tim Barclay, who dubbed the cheese “Mozzarella 2.0.” He went on to explain that the company will “continue to raise funds for the factory in coming weeks, and [we] look forward to distributing our mozzarella to stores and restaurants in the near future.”