Brad Vanstone, Co-founder of Willicroft

In this episode, we welcome Brad Vanstone, founder of Willicroft, a plant‑based cheese producer making planet‑proof cheese for dairy cheese lovers. Inspired by Brad’s family's dairy farming roots dating back to 1957, Willicroft was re‑imagined as a plant‑based cheese company in Amsterdam in 2018.

This is a journey of an inspiring story of passion, tenacity and commitment to doing the right thing.

We hear the story of how Brad:

- Grew up in his grandparents' dairy farm

- started from humble beginnings experimenting with recipes in a flat, where he had an attic full of hundreds of kilos of nuts and various other ingredients

- had to completely rebuild the product and business, as they discovered that the original recipe nuts had a higher impact than the legumes that they now use

- put Mother Nature  as CEO, to place the planet's future front and centre behind every decision they make.

Listen to the end to hear us explore regenerative farming financing, subsidies, taxes as incentivisation - and disincentivization - and some of the blockers and solutions to truly transforming farming and food. 

Let's get into it. Start listening to the episode below.

Who is Catherine Conway

Inspired by a better future for the planet and next generations, Brad Vanstone began eating a mainly plant-based diet on moving to Amsterdam. He found the transition easier than he’d imagine with the exception of cheese. Unable to find many plant-based cheese alternatives in the supermarket, Brad started making it at home.

Months of experimentation later, and with some basic knowledge of dairy cheese making from time spent growing up on his Grandparents’ dairy farm, Brad founded Willicroft in 2018.

The name originates from Willicroft Farm in Devon founded by his grandparents in 1957. Brad is reimagining how we consume cheese combining age-old techniques with a more planet-friendly ingredient base.

With Mother Nature as their CEO, Willicroft is placing the planet's future front and centre behind every decision they make.

Connect with Brad and other changemakers

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