Help Vtopian Cheeses bounce back from hard times

Hi! I’m Stiner, the owner of Vtopian Artisan Cheeses. Vtopian is a small women, Latinx, vegan owned business in Portland, Or. We make vegan artisan cheeses using organic nuts, seeds and locally grown produce. We have been a business since 2014 selling wholesale nationwide. As you could have guessed the pandemic has really diminish our sales and ability to get into new stores. We haven’t been able to demo our cheeses since late 2019. We were doing okay and holding on like champs for a good while. When we were doing well I donated cheese and money to different causes/ people and animal sanctuaries. I love doing that and helping my community and fellow vegans out whenever I can.

Since November I have fallen back so hard. We got word that our commercial kitchen was going to be demolished and we needed to move. I ended up finding a nice kitchen in SE Portland that had an option for a store front. The rent was more expensive than I was use to but I thought since it can be a store front I could make it work. Moving into a new commercial space is so expensive! That took all the money I had plus I had to hire movers to help me move big refrigerators and equipment. Shortly after moving in I realized we had to upgrade the power in order to run our food processor we make cheese with. That was another $5,000. I got that handled only with some help from my fave person. But then we lost 14 accounts with the local grocery store in Portland. They didn’t even let me know they were parting ways with me. This was the most consistent account I had and my favorite because it is the main store in Portland where everyone shops. I was so bummed they didn’t try to work anything out with me or let me know how sales were going. I got into that store the beginning of 2020 and never got to do demos to show people how good the cheese is. (Demo help sales SO MUCH!)

Loosing those 14 stores right after moving into the kitchen and forking out all that money has left me with basically nothing. It’s been so hard to catch up. We can’t afford to get a deli case and other equipment needed for our store front.

I’m so grateful for my current wholesale customers and all our customers across the nation buying our cheese at stores or through our website. And for all the people emailing us telling us how much you love the cheese. It’s so heart warming. Thank you!

I’m at a point right now where I don’t know what else to do but to ask the community for help. I want to open our store front and offer our amazing vegan cheeses along with other nourishing foods. My plan is to have something available for everyone. Whether you’re looking to spend $20 or $2, seriously $2.

A little about me personally:

My work background and favorite thing to do is cooking. I’ve been into food and cooking/ creating recipes since I was a little kid. I’ve worked every job imaginable in kitchens/restaurants since I was 16. I’m 32 now and cooking is still my favorite thing to do. I love the food I make and would love to share it with the Portland community. In 2016 I moved to Portland from Oakland, Ca in hopes of finding a vegan job in this lovely vegan wonderland. (I’ve been vegan for over 16 years) I searched vegan on Craigslist every day until I found Vtopian. I got hired and started working for the original owners, Mark and Imber. I was wrapping and making cheese part time and I thought it was just so cool. I had never made firm vegan cheeses before. One thing about me is I am a fast learner, hard worker and will excel at anything I do. Mark and Imber saw this and when they decided to sell the business in 2018 I was the first person they offered it to. I never wanted to own a business. I hate money and I’m not a good sales person. I’ve tried to sell my art and jewelry in the past and just ended up giving things away or trading for something cool. After thinking about it I decided I wanted to take over Vtopian because I believed in the product. This cheese is so good! I want everyone to experience good vegan cheese that is made with organic whole foods and is healthy. With my knowledge of cooking and knowledge of flavors I made my own recipes and tweaked the existing cheese recipes and made them even better. I do believe in the time I have owned Vtopian the cheeses quality and look has improved. I’ve given my all into this business since I started. I haven’t taken a vacation from it or even got to do any of my other million hobbies as much as I would like. (Roller skating, ceramics, paper mache, watercolor, gardening, sculpting). I am a business owner now weather I like it or not. I want to see Vtopian succeed in my own way. That means opening a store front for people to come into a colorful fun atmosphere and leave with something yummy and a smile. I don’t want to be a millionaire, I just want to feed people good nourishing organic vegan food and the most delicious vegan cheeses with the coolest flavors around.

Your donations will help us set up our store front. We need a deli case and a few other small equipment plus some more electrical work. I appreciate you reading, even if you can’t afford to donate. I understand we are all in the same boat and everything is so hard right now. Please help by sharing or by purchasing some yummy cheese from your favorite store.

Thank you, love you!