‘Cash-ew Cheese’: France’s Jay&Joy Raises $2.3M to Boost Scale-Up & European Expansion
French dairy-free cheese startup Jay&Joy, which also owns Les Nouveaux Affineurs, has raised €2M ($2.3M) to expand its presence across the UK and Europe.
From Camembert to Brie, cheese is one of France’s most famed exports.
One startup is looking to build on that legacy with a modern twist. Based in Lacroix-Saint-Ouen, Jay&Joy is among the country’s producers of plant-based cheese, and it has just raised €2M ($2.3M) in funding to put its products in more shops and restaurants across Europe.
The financing round was led by existing investors Demeter, Beyond Impact, Mindstone, and Vivegan, which were joined by some new backers, including Makesense.
It comes a year after Jay&Joy had brought in €2M and acquired rival vegan cheesemaker Les Nouveaux Affineurs, and marks a welcome turnaround for a company that was once on the brink.
How Jay&Joy and Les Nouveaux Affineurs recovered from financial challenges
Founded in 2015 by Mary Carmen and Éric Jähnke, Jay&Joy adopts traditional French cheesemaking techniques to produce its cashew-based alternatives, including “rigorous fermentation and ripening processes”.
It pioneered artisanal vegan cheese in the country, offering Joséphine (Brie/Camembert), Le Jeanne (Roquefort), Juliette (Emmental), and more. However, in 2023, it was forced to stop production after listeriosis cases were linked to its cheeses.
This led the company to go into receivership, before it was bought by an investment consortium including César Augier (a former sustainability associate at McKinsey) and VC firm High Flyers Capital, which led a concurrent €2M fundraise for Jay&Joy.
Augier took over as CEO, and the firm resumed production soon after, reestablishing its distribution channels and fuelling expansion efforts both in France and across Europe. This led to a 90% hike in sales in 2024.
As part of its drive to reach more consumers, Jay&Joy decided to purchase Les Nouveaux Affineurs, which was itself facing a host of challenges in 2024. This expanded its portfolio, inheriting the latter’s alternatives to Camembert and cream cheese.
This latest investment will support the expansion of both brands through increased awareness and accessibility, as well as a strengthened field sales team. It will enhance and optimise its manufacturing facilities to significantly scale up capacity, aiming to produce more than three million of its plant-based cheeses annually by 2027.
A vegan cheese renaissance in Europe
The Jay&Joy brand remains the core of the company’s strategy. Already available in 10 countries across Europe – including the UK, where it launched in independent stores in 2025 – it will use the capital to grow its distribution throughout the region.
Meanwhile, Les Nouveaux Affineurs was launched into French supermarkets last summer, including Monoprix, Franprix, Intermarché, and Carrefour. It’s already in 1,000 stores across France, but the startup is looking to aggressively expand the brand in 2026, aiming to reach 2,000 distribution points by year-end.
“Our ambition is to make plant-based cheese accessible to everyone, without compromising on taste or enjoyment,” Augier said after the fundraise.
He added: “This investment round will allow us to build on our strong sales momentum across Europe and further contribute to the food transition, while staying true to what makes us unique: a genuine cheesemaking culture, minimally processed products, high-quality standards, and a deep respect for the environment.”
The investment reflects a plant-based cheese renaissance in Europe. In 2024, the category saw sales increase in four of the region’s six largest markets, with its growth outpacing all other plant-based product segments in Italy and France. This has been led by startups making artisanal alternatives that more closely resemble conventional cheese than the second-generation coconut-oil-based iterations.
For instance, Italy’s Dreamfarm more than doubled its year-on-year revenue in 2025 (totalling €2M) on the back of its fresh almond mozzarella, and Finland’s Mö Foods, best known for its oat-milk-based chèvre, raised €2.4M ($2.8M) for its European expansion in January.