Väcka is changing the status quo in plant-based fermentation. Väcka produces high-quality plant-based cheeses, respecting the traditional fermentation and ageing processes while adding the technology and values of the 21st century.
Milestones
Key Data
Founders
Headquarters
Barcelona,
Spain
Founded 2021
Partnered 2022
Luz Sanz
Maxime Boniface
Creating and selling
6 types of vegan cheese
Revenue went up 135% from 2021 to 2022
Why we love Väcka
Väcka is making plant-based cheeses for people that love cheese and are seeking to transition towards an uncompromising sustainable diet. They are filling the market gap for delicious vegan cheese that has not yet been successfully created from plants.
Beyond achieving the taste texture and melting properties of real cheese, Väcka is taking vegan cheese to the next level by not using expensive and far-travelled cashew nuts as a base for their cheese, but a more sustainable and affordable ingredient, namely melon seeds. Väcka is enabling us to enjoy the taste of cheese while eating sustainably.
SDG Alignment
Responsible consumption and production:
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Climate action:
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
The Founders
Luz Sanz is the CEO of Väcka. Luz has a master’s degree in trans-media storytelling. Before co-founding Väcka, Luz was working in the content creation area in Argentina. She’s an experienced entrepreneur, passionate about creating positive impact brands that are at the same time building strong communities.
Maxime Boniface is the CTO of Väcka and founded it together with Luz 2 years ago. He has a master’s degree in cinema and audiovisual science and fulfilled a training in gastronomic plant-based cooking in Buenos Aires. He has more than 10 years of experience in the food sector, developing his own precision fermentation techniques and producing plant-based cheese.
For R&D, Luz and Maxime work together with Eline Blommaert from Belgium. After finishing her master’s in biomedical science, with a major in biomolecular engineering, she started her academic career by doing a PhD in Molecular Diagnosis at KU Leuven. After finishing, she continued her academic career in Spain as a postdoctoral researcher for the Breast Cancer Group. As of February 2022, Eline is the head of R&D at Väcka, researching how to get the right structure, components and taste for their vegan cheeses.
