Inside a warehouse on the outskirts of London, Ont., wheels of cheese are aging on metal racks.
Nearby, stainless steel tanks hum gently. Workers move around, filling molds and sealing packages.
At first glance, the factory looks like a typical dairy operation. But it’s not.
What began as Margaret Coons’s mission to create vegan cheese she couldn’t find anywhere has blossomed into Nuts For Cheese. The brand is now available in major grocery stores across North America, including Costco and Metro.
Coons recently received a Manufacturer Award from the London Chamber of Commerce for her achievements.
“It’s pretty surreal,” she said about the success of her dairy-free products that have catchy names like Un-Brie-Lievable and Super Blue. “It’s really, really cool to see what we’ve built together.”
This recognition is a result of years of steady growth – a journey that started with how Coons got involved in food.
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Margaret Coons samples Nuts For Cheese products at a grocery store in Hamilton in 2016 as she traveled to stores and markets to introduce customers to the brand during its early days. (Submitted by Margaret Coons)
“I made the product, I packaged the product, I drove it around to all the retailers,” she said. “I did everything.”
She started selling her cheese at local farmers’ markets while managing production, packaging and delivery as demand gradually grew.
Minarsky has been part of the company for over two years now and noted how their workflow continues evolving with new systems being introduced along the way.
“There’s a lot of new processes that are always happening,” she added.
“It’s really nice getting hands-on experience starting new processes and sharing ideas together.”
The end of duty-free shipping that took effect last August coincided with an increase in business from U. S. customers.
The Trump administration put an end’s nearly century-old de minimis exemption allowing goods valued under $800 US without additional fees.
“It really felt like it could be the end for many businesses like mine,” she expressed.
“That was one frightening moment since owning this business. It was crucial preparing ourselves.” The preparations included closely managing expenses while also restructuring parts within their supply chain.
“We’ve managed mostly switching our supply chain over Canadian suppliers,”she noted.”That posed quite an obstacle.” Despite facing hurdles along this path,
Coons affirms their aim remains unchanged – continuing making food just like they intended right from day one.
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The ingredients that came together
Coons’s interest in food started young when she became vegetarian at age 12 and later transitioned to veganism around 19. “I did not grow up in a vegetarian household, and so I started cooking at a pretty young age,” she says. As she learned to cook for herself, she noticed there was a lack of quality vegan and dairy-free options in stores. “There weren’t a ton of great options available in supermarkets,” Coons said. “When I was first starting out, there was very little available in terms of high-quality, organic, fermented, dairy-free products.” Instead of waiting for better choices to show up on shelves, Coons decided to make her own by picking up skills while working at a vegan restaurant in London. She tried experimenting outside restaurant hours by renting kitchen space and producing small batches.Tweaking the process
Soon enough, production expanded from rented kitchen space into an actual facility which allowed Nuts For Cheese to operate on a larger scale. A once solo venture has now grown into a team effort with 40 people involved..Theteam leadAlanmah Minarsky shared:“My favourite thing is the people that I work with,”Nuts for Cheese team lead Alanmah Minarsky said.“Everybody’s always working together and collaborating.”
Minarsky has been part of the company for over two years now and noted how their workflow continues evolving with new systems being introduced along the way.
“There’s a lot of new processes that are always happening,” she added.“It’s really nice getting hands-on experience starting new processes and sharing ideas together.”
The growth story across borders
Selling products in the United States has brought some extra challenges-especially when it comes down to shipping orders across borders. “We send samples as well as direct-to-consumer small shipments acrossthe border allthe time,”saysCoons.”That’s been particularly challenging for us.”.
The end of duty-free shipping that took effect last August coincided with an increase in business from U. S. customers.
The Trump administration put an end’s nearly century-old de minimis exemption allowing goods valued under $800 US without additional fees.
“It really felt like it could be the end for many businesses like mine,” she expressed.“That was one frightening moment since owning this business. It was crucial preparing ourselves.” The preparations included closely managing expenses while also restructuring parts within their supply chain.
“We’ve managed mostly switching our supply chain over Canadian suppliers,”she noted.”That posed quite an obstacle.” Despite facing hurdles along this path,
Coons affirms their aim remains unchanged – continuing making food just like they intended right from day one.
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