Having turned vegan in 2004, Alice Shopland thought it was the best decision she had ever made due to its positive environmental impact. This also led to a realisation of the lack of good vegan cheese alternatives.
“Finding vegan dairy alternatives was a significant hurdle for people trying to become vegan because people can’t imagine life without cheese. So I decided to do something about it,” said Shopland, founder and managing director of Angel Food, founded in 2006.
Shopland began importing vegan cheese from the UK and later developed her own formulations. Thus, she launched the first vegan cheese to be manufactured in New Zealand.
For a few years, she worked as a freelance writer at Angel Food. She eventually became involved in various aspects, from product development to packing orders to bookkeeping, sales, and marketing.
“It was a one-person operation for years, and I was that person.”
Seeing how mainstream vegan food has become today compared with 20 years ago, and knowing that she played a part in that, has been a significant career highlight for Shopland.
She mentioned that a shift to plant-based diets was one of the easiest and most effective ways to mitigate environmental change since animal agriculture was responsible for most of the greenhouse gas emissions, especially in New Zealand.
“I am a grandmother, and I am terrified of the environmental challenges my future generation will have to deal with because of climate change.”
The same drive for a better environment and animal welfare that she had two decades ago has continued to motivate her to this day. She advised taking care of oneself and being strategic about where one expended one's energy and other resources.
“It’s a cliché but true: business is an ultramarathon, not a sprint.”
Discover the stories of more women in business here
