What To Know About Shark Tank Brand Rebel Cheese

This Friday's episode of "Shark Tank" is about to get a little cheesy. Among the businesses set to pitch before the panel of wealthy celebrity investors is Rebel Cheese, a brand looking to change the world's perception surrounding the vegan lifestyle through its delectable offerings. The company offers a wide selection of homemade gourmet vegan cheeses and other food items that are available both online and at their restaurant location. 

It's no secret that veganism has been on the rise in recent years. Go into any grocery store — or even watch any recent "Shark Tank" segment with a food-based company — and you're bound to find a wider variety of vegan options than ever before. The vegan cheese market is no exception, with a study by Grandview Research estimating that this subsection alone will become a $7.1 billion market by 2030. With sustainability issues at the forefront of our society, it only makes sense that this category will continue seeing traction. 

The company's products are not only good for vegan consumers but are equally suitable for lactose-intolerant and health-conscious individuals. Given that Rebel Cheese's items are made using the same process as traditional dairy foods, the team believes that even the most staunch omnivores won't be able to taste the difference. But before finding out if the Sharks will find the business flavorful, it's time we take a bite of Rebel Cheese and see what the company is all about. 

While the founders of Rebel Cheese proudly wear their vegan badges of honor now, it wasn't always this way. Husband-and-wife duo Kirsten Maitland and Fred Zwar have always had an immense passion for food. Maitland, especially, loved cheese and had it in every meal until coming across the book "How Not to Die" by Dr. Michael Greger. After learning the harmful facts of dairy products, she gave up cheese overnight. 

This convinced the couple to seek healthier options to satisfy their cravings. Failing to find a fitting solution, they began testing their own concepts and consulting with dairy experts. From here, their specially crafted plant-based cheese option was born. Simply crafted and healthy, their cheeses are made using only cashews, water, salt, and cultures while remaining creamy and cholesterol-free. This simple layout has allowed the team to craft a wide range of flavors including pepper jack, parmesan, smoked cheddar, honee pistachio chèvre, and tomato herb fromage, to name a few.

Few events have made an impact on businesses quite like the COVID-19 pandemic. This was no exception for Rebel Cheese, which started only a year prior. But even through the hurdles, the team endured and even made some big breakthroughs during this troubling time. Like most businesses, Rebel Cheese pivoted to handling much of its operations online, with co-founder Kirsten Maitland aiming to keep the experience in line with their restaurant service. Additionally, she and her husband introduced delivery and curbside pickup options and experimented with events such as virtual cheese tastings. 

This time also saw the company move its production facilities. Before, the team had been storing the majority of their inventory in a 600-square-foot space located in a shared commercial kitchen. To save on spending during the pandemic, they sought new options. They eventually came across a 1,000-square-foot facility that cut down monthly costs by upward of $600. While they were responsible for providing the equipment and machinery, it made for a worthy investment as the team could now store 5,000 pounds of cheese and satiate the increased demand.

With a good-tasting menu and an earnest mission to reduce our carbon footprint, Rebel Cheese has been hitting its stride in recent years. Even in its relatively early life, the company has already received high honors and experienced some once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. 

In 2020, Rebel Cheese's restaurant location won Best New Restaurant from CultureMap's Tastemaker Awards. What made the win especially significant was that it made Rebel Cheese the first vegan eatery to reach this achievement.  "Winning the CultureMap award, and being the only vegan establishment against omnivorous restaurants, is a big win for our mission," co-founder Kirsten Maitland said in an interview with VegNews. "We hope this will convince more people that vegan cheese and meat alternatives can taste just as good as (if not better than) animal-based products, and in turn encourage more newcomers to the wonderful world of veganism."

The team received a unique proposal in 2022 when the Moody Center approached them about making a custom charcuterie and cheese board to be placed in the vegan rapper Lizzo's dressing room for her then-upcoming Austin concert. The final product, which took seven hours to piece together, was made to resemble the artist herself, consisting of Taki-coated Sour Cream and Onion Cheddar Cheese Balls, Ash Chèvre wheels, Colby Jack, Smoked Cheddar, kale, and edible flowers, among other ingredients. 

Rebel Cheese's website offers a subscription service that delivers a constantly rotating variety of cheese wheels, wedges, and spreads. Otherwise, you can find its products through other retailers such as The Vreamery and even Walmart. 

Kirsten Maitland and Fred Swar immediately make a cheesy splash — sorry — during their "Shark Tank" debut. Their pitch is filled with cheesy — last one — food puns and warm enthusiasm. Naturally, the duo brings samples for the Sharks to try, and they quickly dig in. Of course, Kevin O'Leary gets a chance to bring up being something of a cheese and wine connoisseur in the process. "The one you nailed it on is the brie," he says. "There is no way to tell the difference."

The vegan cheesemakers seek $750,000 for five percent equity. Maitland and Swar get put on the back foot early when Robert Herjavec asks them if they are the only ones in the vegan cheesemaking market. The pair quickly admit that they are obviously not. However, they boast that nobody in the market is producing at their level, claiming that one of their newer plants can make eight million wheels annually.

When it comes to sealing the deal, O'Leary is the first one out, citing that Maitland and Swar's ask is too high. Mark Cuban quickly follows and flat-out offers them the money for 10% equity, surprising the Sharks, especially Lori Greiner, who tries to bring the energy down in the room and asks everyone to wait. After hyping up her own cheese endeavors, Greiner asks to join in with Cuban for their concrete offer: $750,000 for 10% equity. After some back and forth where the Sharks continuously deny Maitland and Swar's counter offers, a deal is struck, and Rebel Cheese leaves with two sharks backing their cheesy efforts.