Daiya better go retail SOON

Back when I first became a vegetarian and flirted with becoming a vegan I tried a few cheese alternatives. most of them weren’t even vegan, having dairy derived ingredients to aid in melting. And for the most part, all of them were a disappointment. I didn’t need them to taste exactly like Cheese. But I did need them to have at least a generic cheese taste.

I’ve read a few reviews here and there for various vegan cheeses. I even saw a blog that had a side by side comparison of several top brands which all failed in some way. However, now there is Daiya.

Daiya is a vegan cheese that melts and from what I’ve heard, tastes pretty good. Problem is that Daiya still hasn’t implimented a retail strategy yet and only sells in bulk to the food industry. A handful of mail order companies? have managed to get Daiya in stock, which they then source out to commercial kitchens to shred & package it in smaller portions. Two retailers, Pangea & Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe are both on the east coast.? Portland Oregon’s Food Fight only carries Daiya in stores and I live in Southern Oregon.

In the end, I ordered online from VeganEssentials who, I believe, is based out of Wisconsin.? The deciding factor was financial. I ordered 2 lbs of Daiya, had to pay for a cooler and ice pack and 2nd day shipping. This was the same across all three websites I found Daiya available from.? However, I found a one-time use coupon for Vegan Essentials that reduced shipping by $7. VeganEssential’s 2-day shipping was marginally less than? the others and in the end I paid $35 for 2 lbs of Vegan cheese.

Let that sink in.

I paid $35 for 2 lbs of vegan cheese.

I will not be repeating this unless Daiya fucking BLOWS MY MIND. At this price, I can’t afford it. This makes me sad because I love cheesey food so incredibly much. So I guess I’ll have to be more careful and plan out exactly how I am going to be spending this dietary currency.

Makers of Daiya cheese take note. There are people out there who willingly paid extra for coolers and 2-day shipping, essentially paying for your product TWICE over. Get off your asses and offer it to the public already so I can request my local grocer carry it.