Earth Island (Follow Your Heart) co-founder and CEO Bob Goldberg has always had an independent streak, telling reporters over the years he’s happy dancing to his own tune despite periodic overtures from big CPG suitors. Last month, however, he inked a deal to sell the company he co-founded in the 1970’s to Danone. So what changed?
“
To be completely transparent about it,
I’ve always been in the ‘stay independent’ camp” said Goldberg, a pioneer in the plant-based foods arena who was waxing lyrical about vegan mayo and cheese decades before many investors, big CPG companies, or mainstream consumers, started paying much attention.
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Danone North America CEO on plant-based trends, why soymilk is back in growth, and the Follow Your Heart deal By Elaine Watson
Shane Grant: Our plant-based business in North America grew by 17% [in 2020] (Picture credit: Danone North America) US retail sales of soymilk - which have declined precipitously over the past decade – have started to grow again, says Danone North America, which is spearheading the turnaround with its Silk brand, the leading player in the soymilk segment.
According to SPINS data, US retail sales of soymilk declined 0.9% to $201.4m in the year to Jan, 24, 2021, a startling drop from a decade or so ago, when they topped $1bn. To put this into perspective, almondmilk sales were up 16.9% to $1.59bn over the same 52-week period, while sales of relative newcomer oatmilk surged 219.3% to $264.1m, catapulting it into the #2 spot in the plant-based milk category behind almondmil
French dairy giant Danone collected another plant-based pioneer last week with the acquisition of Follow Your Heart. Danone obtained the plant-based brand through a share purchase agreement where the company purchased 100% of the shares of Earth Island, the parent company of Follow Your Heart. This transaction follows a greater trend for the dairy company, which has spent the last two decades enhancing its plant-based profile with companies like Silk and So Delicious.
Dairy Company Acquires Vegan Brand Follow Your Heart
Follow Your Heart is known for its early push during the plant-based movement, starting in 1970 as a vegan lunch counter in Los Angeles. Since then, the company has launched a slew of important plant-based alternatives such as Vegenaise (vegan mayonnaise) and a number of dairy-free cheeses. Follow Your Heart also launched a selection of plant-based salad dressings and a VeganEgg. The brand’s growth significantly rose over the last decade, and in 2019, Chief Opera
A pioneer in the vegan foods movement,
Follow Your Heart makes shredded and sliced plant-based cheese, grated and shredded plant-based parmesan and cream cheese alternatives; the egg-free mayonnaise brand, Vegenaise; plant-based sour cream, salad dressings, and the VeganEgg.
Its products are available nationwide in the US; in Canada under the Earth Island brand; and in several international markets under the Follow Your Heart brand including the UK, Australia, Sweden, Ireland, Iceland, and Denmark.
As part of Danone – which recently set a goal of increasing plant-based sales from €2.2bn in 2020 to €5bn by 2025 and has invested in several alternative protein companies via its ventures arm - Follow Your Heart will be able to accelerate its national and international expansion, said co-founder and CEO of Earth Island Bob Goldberg.