Applewood Vegan was created by dairy giant Applewood - which is calling on people to consume more plant-based food

Applewood vegan cheese

A new vegan cheese sold out in just one day in stores across the UK.

Applewood Vegan, which launched into 230 Asda outlets at the end of last month, sold out in 40 percent of stockists on the day it hit shelves.

Cheese bosses at Applewood admit they are 'staggered' by the huge demand for the product, which is the result of a collaboration between Applewood and VBites, the vegan food company run by Heather Mills.

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Phenomenon

"Supermarket sales have exploded, and now we're asking, is this the Greggs sausage roll phenomenon all over again?" Applewood's senior brand manager, Lisa Harrison, said to Plant Based News.

"40 percent of stores sold out on the first day of sale and consumers were lamenting on social media that they couldn't buy it, our switchboard was inundated with calls from people asking when would more stock be available. In fact, we had to take to Twitter to apologize that we had misjudged the demand.

"The demand has been so great that just two days after Applewood Vegan first went on sale our purchasing manager was desperately emailing Heather to say, 'we need as much as you can supply as soon as you can supply it'."

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Overtime

As a result of the overwhelming demand, hundreds of staff at Heather Mills' allergen-free factory at Benton, Newcastle, have been put on triple-shift overtime as production lines work around the clock to supply the demand which has overwhelmed the cheese chiefs.

"I'm delighted by the enthusiasm for Applewood Vegan. I've always predicted that it would be a winner because just one nibble will tell you that; it's the next level for great-tasting plant-based food and there's much more like this to come," said Mills.

Lisa Harrison added: "We are thrilled and somewhat staggered by the response. And we're delighted too that, just one week after it was launched, Applewood Vegan has won the 2019 PETA UK award for the best tasting vegan cheese on the market."