Published in NZ Manufacturer, June 2021

Company Profile
Angel Food

Alice Shopland, Founder and Managing Director

What does your Company do?

Angel Food creates dairy-free and vegan dairy alternatives. Our current range includes alternatives to cheddar, mozzarella, cream cheese and powdered parmesan.

Our products are stocked in major supermarkets all over New Zealand, and used by food service customers including Hell Pizza and Pizza Hut and The Cheesecake Shop, and manufacturing customers including Dad’s Pies, Goodtime Pies, and Leader.

How long have you been in business?

I established Angel Food in 2006 because I wanted to play a part in making vegan food mainstream - initially we imported dairy-free cheese from the UK, but by 2014 we had developed our own formulation and launched the first New Zealand-made dairy-free cheese alternative.

Part of the testing process was trials at our local Hell pizza - and they were one of our first customers when we launched. We also got straight into various New World stores, and we haven’t looked back.

What’s your background?

I’ve always had an amateur interest in food, especially unusual food or interesting dietary requirements.

I was a freelance writer for magazines for a long time, and I loved interviewing small business owners - their creativity and determination were inspiring, and I was attracted to the idea of setting up my own business.

But it wasn’t until I became vegan in 2004, and realized the dire lack of decent vegan cheese options, that my business mission became clear.

Do you export?

We are constantly fielding export enquiries, and developing our export strategy is our top priority at the moment.

Aotearoa is world-famous for the quality of its dairy products - I want to see our country move with the times and gain global recognition for the quality of its dairy alternatives!

Where are the growth opportunities for Angel Food?

We’re fortunate to be in a growth market, with about 30% of the Kiwi population now actively reducing their intake of animal products (but still loving the taste of cheese!).

So there’s a lot of organic growth for us in New Zealand, especially in food service and supplying ingredients to manufacturers.

But the big prize is the big overseas markets - demand for vegan food is blossoming everywhere!

In the ever-changing food market are you ever surprised?

Regularly, in positive and negative ways. For example, I’m surprised and saddened that so much research is going into reducing methane emissions from cows, rather than phasing the poor blighters out of the food system - we can get all of our nutritional requirements from plants.

And I’m surprised and delighted that I can now go to almost any petrol station in the country and get a great vegan pie and a vegan Magnum ice cream - things have changed massively since I first went vegan in 2004.

What changes do you see in ingredients in the future?

We’ll continue to see very specialized ingredients being developed for plant-based products - and I expect that nutritional claims and whole food status will become increasingly important. 

How are you finding current business conditions?

It’s easier now than it was a year ago, because constant change has become our norm - and our nimbleness is a real asset.

But sea freight delays are frustrating, and the increased cost (and delays) of airfreight are challenging when we’re trying to explore new markets.

It’s been great to attend international conferences which have pivoted to online - although after one “all day” conference based in Europe (i.e. all night in NZ) I did feel as jetlagged as if I’d actually flown to Europe!