Sainsbury's Is Expanding Its 'Gary' Range (That's Vegan Cheese, FYI)

Hello, vegan cheese board ๐Ÿ˜

Sainsburyโ€™s has announced it will be expanding its range of vegan cheeses due to the overwhelming popularity of its first vegan cheese, affectionately nicknamed โ€˜Garyโ€™.

The supermarket found itself at the centre of viral debate last year after a woman suggested it should call its vegan cheese โ€œGary or somethingโ€, on the grounds that it isnโ€™t real cheese.

The supermarket saw the funny side and decided to adopt the name and a year on, Gary is about to get some new milk-free, coconut-based friends.

Sainsburys

This autumn, the supermarket will launch a vegan blue cheese for those wanting to indulge in a cheese board on Christmas day.

Meanwhile vegan-friendly cheddar-style slices, cheddar-style with chives, and branded products Violife Mediterranean-style block and Violife Prosociano are now in store.

The range already includes cheddar-style with caramelised onion, Greek-style and Wensleydale-style with cranberries.

The supermarket has also teamed up with brand White Rabbit to launch two new pizzas: Wild Babe and Smokinโ€™ Vegan.

Sainsburys

According to Sainsburyโ€™s, the Deliciously FreeFrom range has seen significant growth in the past 12 months, leading to a Freefrom sales increase of 19%.

Achieving overnight internet fame when it launched last year, sales of the โ€˜Garyโ€™ cheese alternative exceeded expectations by 300%.

Commenting on the expansion, Alexa Masterson, Sainsburyโ€™s product developer for Deliciously FreeFrom said: โ€œWhen โ€˜Garyโ€™ went viral last year, the positive response from customers was fantastic.

โ€œIt became very clear that the Deliciously FreeFrom range, as well as being a great option for customers with allergies or intolerances, is also increasingly popular with those who choose to avoid certain foods โ€“ vegans were among the earliest adopters of our coconut-based alternatives to cheese.โ€

With more than half a million people in the UK now following a vegan diet, we think Gary is here to stay.

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