Kraft Heinz Launches Plant Based Cheese Slices

Kraft Heinz and NotCo are keeping up with the times, launching a plant-based version of the iconic Kraft American Cheese!

Not Cheese is coming to Giant Eagle stores in the Cleveland area in early November. A national rollout is planned next year, according to this Bloomberg news article.

According to Bloomberg, the main ingredients in Not Cheese are water, coconut oil, modified corn starch, and chickpea protein. Soon, there will be launches of plant-based American, provolone, and cheddar varieties!

In a Q&A session an analyst said that Kraft Not Cheese is "incredible!" "It tastes like cheese, it smells like cheese, and melts like cheese."

Kraft NotCheese Image via FoodDive's Website

NotCo (a Chilean startup that reached high status last year) uses an AI-centric approach to developing plant-based alternatives. It has a powerful AI system that it calls "Giuseppe" that is used to create initial recipes.

Essentially, "Giuseppe" is trained to generate a recipe using ingredients in its database in order to match a particular taste, texture, or color of a given food. To read more about this intriguing approach, click here.

According to Bloomberg, the joint venture between NotCo and Kraft Heinz is working on a release for plant-based mayonnaise.

NotMayo was the company's first product in Chile and created the foundation for the company's status. Unfortunately, it has yet to come to the U.S - it is estimated to launch next year.

J.L Kraft, Kraft Heinz's founder, was the first to sell and popularize sliced American cheese! The Kraft branding on the plant-based version gives a lot of credibility to what it is, as well as high standards to uphold.