Cheeze &Thank You vegan cheese in Dill Havarti, Herbed Feta, Black Garlic Truffle Fontina, Mustard Seed Smoked Gouda, Giardiniera Jack and Mozzarella Capri will be available for purchase at Whole Foods locations (Hyde Park, Gold Coast, South Loop, Halsted, Streeterville, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Edgewater, and West Loop) in late June.
VegOut Chicago first discovered Cheeze & Thank You at Chicago Vegan Test Kitchen in 2019, where Founder Megan Schmitt was sampling and selling her vegan cheese. The popularity for soy-based, nut-based and seed-based cheese such as Herbed Feta, Pesto Mozzarella Capri and a VegOut Chicago favorite, the queso blanco increased quickly, and Megan sold out at every vegan pop-up. Megan expressed, “I really focus on fun artisanal flavors that consumers can’t typically find at a grocery store, and If I had to pick a classic that I never get sick of, I would personally pick Dill Havarti or Mozzarella Capri every day.”
Cheeze & Thank You started as a passion and came with an incredible amount of hard work. Schmitt told VegOut Chicago, “I hope that C&TY is the product that helps some people switch to vegan (I always hear people say they could never give up dairy cheese). Or I hope that vegans share my product with their non-vegan friends and family and maybe make some people buy less dairy cheese because of it.” She plans to focus on brand growth and hopes to sell nationwide in the future.
