Our Story

DVC stall at the show

"Dairy" But, No Dairy

Darë Vegan Cheese started as a play on words from founder Gwendolyn Dare Hageman's middle name, written on a napkin in a dark Asheville dive bar after yet another long kitchen shift. She knew two things, she wanted to make vegan cheese that was actually good- to recreate the standard and quality of cheesemaking with a new medium- and, well, she wanted her life’s work to be a pun. Pronounced like dairy, tastes like dairy, but there is, in fact, no dairy. Plus, when pronounced incorrectly, like it often is, the name is still a cheeky nod to the bold approach in which the entire company has been built- dare to try something different. 

Beyond better cheese, Gwendolyn wanted a better life for herself, not dictated by the volatility of the service industry and burnt-out bosses, and wanted to extend that love for your job to others. Starting in the basement kitchen of the restaurant where she worked, Gwendolyn began producing and sharing products at farmer’s markets in 2019. Today, Darë Vegan Cheeses are available nationally and our small and mighty team, without a doubt, love their jobs. This journey to making the best cheese has also bettered all of our lives, and it's definitely not lost on us that we make others lives better too.

(First Farmer’s Market- Sept 2019)

It's Nuts!

Darë Vegan Cheese aims to be the best dairy-free cheese out there, and if we’re being honest, we just want you to say, “Hey, that’s really good cheese.” We work with clean ingredients, healthy microbes, and a little culinary wizardry to create dairy free cheese that cannot be distinguished from dairy. With our commitment to culinary craft and high quality ingredients, we are changing the way people enjoy their favorite food.

We've made cheese better, it's nuts.

Our Core Values

  • Simply the Best

    We’ve heard it before. “It’s good for a vegan cheese,” or “It’s pretty good for being plant-based.” Those kind of sentiments are nice, but we wanted more. Darë Vegan Cheese aims to be the best dairy-free cheese out there, and if we’re being honest, we just want you to say, “Hey, that’s really good cheese.” So we work with whole ingredients, food science, and fermentation to bring out the best in our live cultures, the workhorse of microbes behind the best cheeses in the world. 

  • Human-Centered

    We are a people-powered company driven to serve plant-based communities far and wide. We share mutual respect for people, planet, and animals and work to support each other with empathy, collaboration, and care. 

  • Craft Conscious

    When we set out on a path to develop a dairy-free cheese, we knew we couldn’t call it cheese without following cheesemaking traditions. Culinary craft remains the center of our work. Paired with a deep care for our customers and bonafide technique, we delve into our work as chefs, artisans, and flavor makers. 

  • Boldness

    This business was built on taking a chance and getting out of our comfort zone. Our a-ha moment came from that wild place where experimentation meets innovation. From one bold experiment, Darë Vegan Cheese was born and so was our taste for the thrill of creation. We took that experience to heart. We choose boldness and courage daily so that we can make the best dairy-free cheese on the market and grow into a company we’re proud of. 

  • Down-to-Earth Artisan

    Yes, we’re an artisan product, a plant-based alternative. Some might even say, a fancy cheese. But at our core, we’re a pun-loving bunch of people who would rather our products take the spotlight, than us. We don’t like too much fanfare. We just like to make tasty products and let the cheese speak for itself.
Meet the Team