For our latest featured local Toronto business, we spoke with Tim D. and Liz Gallagher about their dairy alternative cheese and butter brand called Culcherd.
What is your business called and what does it do?
We’re Culcherd – a dairy alternative company making products out of plants. We have 6 flavours of cashew-based cheese and 4 flavours of butter. Everything we create is innovative, chef-created and does not compromise on flavour or our values. All of our products are packaged using environmentally friendly, plastic-free, recyclable, and compostable materials. Culcherd was also recently certified both Vegan and Organic.
What made you want to do this work?
We started about 4 years ago, when we wanted a flavourful, healthy, artisanal plant-based cheese and could not find one.
What problem does this solve?
People are struggling with a number of different health conditions (allergies, intolerances, sensitivities, auto immune, etc.) and the planet is struggling with plastic everywhere. We are passionate about creating products that are both healthy and environmentally friendly. Our cheeses have over 1 billion probiotics in each serving, which help to support a healthy immune and digestive system. And our packaging is now plastic free and completely compostable.
Who are your clientele/demographics?
Our main consumers are those limiting or avoiding dairy. Consumers avoiding dairy due to allergies or intolerances, general health reasons, or those following a plant-based/vegan lifestyle. But we also have a large consumer base of people who just enjoy our products as an alternative option to traditional dairy cheese.
How does your business make money? How does it work?
Our products are primarily sold in grocery stores around Toronto, but we’ll be looking to expand across Ontario and Canada in the coming months. We also do a number of events locally where you can purchase our products.
Where in Toronto can we find your profession?
We’re currently sold in stores such as The Big Carrot, Mama Earth, Fresh City Farms, Pusatari’s, and more. Check out http://culcherd.com for a full list of retailers and if you live within the GTA, we are offering direct contactless shipping right to your doorstep.
What is the best question a prospective customer could ask a member of your profession when comparing services?
I think what really sets us apart is that we’re completely plastic free and rich in probiotics. All of our cheese are aged as well, which creates a really cool unique rind. So, we appreciate when we’re asked about these features.
What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?
The best part is meeting and connecting with customers and fellow business owners within the space – it’s an incredible community. And being pulled in multiple directions each day is probably the worst. We are a super small team, which makes it extremely challenging to get through our never-ending to-do list/s.
What is your favourite joke about your own profession?
We always have someone saying “Dairy-free cheese?! If it’s not made from dairy, how is that possible?” We love when we can surprise people and give them the opportunity to try something new and innovative.
PAY IT FORWARD: What is another Toronto business that you love?
There are so many amazing Toronto businesses. A few that we are really excited about right now are Stellar Health and raiz.
