Another Vegan Butter Option Has Arrived. This Time from Violife.

Vegan brand Violife has launched its first vegan butter, Vioblock, at Asda stores across the United Kingdom. Made from a blend of coconut oil, sunflower oil, and rapeseed oil, Vioblock is fortified with vitamins B1, B2, B6, and B12. Violife’s new vegan butter offers a familiar buttery flavor and can be used for melting, spreading, and baking. 

Violife’s product portfolio consists mostly of plant-based cheeses and Vioblock is a step in a new direction for the vegan company.  “Launching our first butter alternative Vioblock is a milestone moment for Violife as we look to expand our product offering further within the dairy alternatives category,” Bianca Harris, UK Marketing Manager for Violife, said. “Always 100-percent vegan, Vioblock stays true to the core values of Violife, in that they are suitable for everyone to enjoy regardless of their dietary requirements and perform just as you would expect.”

Based in Thessalonica, Greece since the 1990s, Violife’s products are now available in more than 50 countries around the world, including the United States, where the brand became widely available through Whole Foods Market in 2018. Violife has focused mainly on vegan cheese, offering products such as cheese blocks, slices, spreads, and wedges in various flavors from cheddar to feta. The brand has also offered a seasonal EPIC Christmas Platter featuring three Cheddar-flavored blocks (mature, smoked, and garlic & chili). Stateside, the brand offers vegan cheeses such as parmesan wedges, cream cheeses, mature cheddar slices and blocks, and feta blocks. 

Harris says the Violife’s entry into vegan butter presents a formidable opportunity. “With dairy alternatives out-growing the dairy sector by almost three to one, yet representing only five percent of the total dairy sector, there is sizable headroom for growth of the dairy alternatives sector and expansion for Violife beyond the dairy alternative to cheese category,” Harris said. “Whether flexitarian, vegan, or vegetarian, we look forward to introducing supporters of the brand to an expanded product range in the future.”

Last year, the company introduced a vegan chocolate spread called Cocospread in select stores in the UK. The dessert spread is made with coconut oil, brown sugar, cocoa powder, dried banana powder, and other flavorings, and is free from nuts, soy, gluten, and preservatives. Cocospread made its way into the US earlier this year. 

All the vegan butter

Violife’s Vioblock adds to the growing number of vegan butter options on the market, including from brands such as Kite Hill, Miyoko’s Creamery, Califia Farms, Milkadamia, Flora, Earth Balance, and Melt Organic. 

Additionally, major brands such as Country Crock and Target have gotten in on the vegan butter bandwagon. In 2017, Unilever brand I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter introduced a new “It’s Vegan” product. The spread—certified by Vegan Action to ensure that it is free of animal products—is made with a blend of soy and canola oils. 

In 2019, Country Crock debuted its vegan Plant Butter line, which is available in retailers nationwide. The line includes Plant Butter with Olive Oil, Plant Butter with Almond Oil, and Plant Butter with Avocado Oil available in buttery sticks. The almond oil and olive oil varieties are also available in tub formats.

Earlier this year, retail giant Target launched its new in-house brand Good & Gather Plant Based, offering 30 products including Organic Non-Dairy Butter Spread. 

For more on vegan butter, read The Comprehensive Guide to Vegan Butter.