Are you the future of cheese?
What’s the prize?
How does it work?
- Complete our short application form and send the filled-out application to cheesealternative@lidl.de by the latest April 27, 2025.
- If you apply with a finished product or ingredient, send samples of your product or of possible applications to the ProVeg Incubator as soon as possible, or by April 27, 2025 latest. See FAQs below for details.
- The ProVeg Incubator team will review applications and conduct interviews with shortlisted startups to assess innovation, vision and readiness for scaling. As part of this initial evaluation, the Incubator team will also sample the submitted products.
- We will inform all participants on May 19, 2025. You are invited to the final tasting event where the winner will be determined by a panel of judges.
- The winner will start working closely with Lidl on the launch of a delicious cheese alternative to hit the shelves.
Application stage
March 18 - April 27
Finalists selected
May 18
Tasting event with judging panel
Coming soon
Ready to take your cheese alternative to the next level?
Eligibility criteria
We’re excited to welcome startups that meet the following criteria:
Registered business and geography
Market approval
Innovative product or technology
Market readiness
Certification
Shelf life
Branding agreement
FAQs
The challenge is open to companies that offer innovative animal-free cheese alternatives, technologies, or ingredients for applications in cheese alternatives and that meet the required eligibility criteria. They should be registered in Europe or in the regions specified in the Terms and Conditions and have market approval of the product for sale in Germany and meet Lidl’s certification and shelf-life requirements.
- Download the Excel file (can be found by clicking on the button "Lidl Cheese Challenge Application Questions").
- Fill out the Excel file and prepare the required documents mentioned in it.
- Send the filled-out Excel file and the two documents to: cheesealternative@lidl.de
- Done – ProVeg will get in touch with you.
*An application without a completed excel file is not possible.
The competition is open for applications for six weeks from March 17 until April 27.
Together with ProVeg, we are looking for innovative cheese alternatives, with a focus on categories that show the greatest potential for improvement compared to their dairy counterparts. We focus on alternatives to hard cheeses and sliced cheeses, but we’re also open to extraordinary other types, such as alternatives to: spreads, meltable cheeses, aged varieties, and grated cheeses.
We’re equally interested in groundbreaking technologies or ingredients that tackle taste, texture, or nutrition of cheese alternatives - provided they have regulatory approval for sale in Germany.
How do startups benefit from this challenge?
The winner of this challenge will get the unique opportunity to get their product sold in selected stores across Lidl in Germany. The product will be marketed under the Lidl private brand Vemondo. This means access to Lidl’s extensive customer base, offering unparalleled exposure for your product. You’ll benefit from direct feedback as well as support to get your product listed and integrated into the system. The winning startup will also benefit from promotion and communication support from Lidl and the ProVeg Incubator.
When submitting an application form, applicants (who are applying with a product) must also send us samples of the product they are applying with. It is recommended that products are posted as soon as applications are submitted due to potential delays in postage.
In the case of an application with a marketable or innovative product, a sample of the product must be sent to
ProVeg e. V.
Attn: Incubator Team
Genthiner Straße 48, 10785 Berlin
by 27.04.2025
When posting, any requirements e.g. for cooling, storage etc must be clearly stated on the outside of the packaging . Storage, sell-by date, and any preparation instructions should also be included. The name of your company and the type of product should be clearly indicated somewhere on the product or packaging. The Zollamt [customs office] may decide to check your package. To reduce this likelihood, try to send your product from within Europe, and clearly describe your product and its value on the postage slip or front of package. Questions regarding postage may be sent to info@provegincubator.com.
If your product is selected as the best plant-based cheese alternative product in the competition, the process to prepare your product for launch across selected Lidl in Germany stores will begin. Depending on how market-ready you are, and what kind of product you have (product or ingredient) this will include the internal audit, negotiations, and integration into the system.
The winner of the competition will be announced with the launch.
If you have a finished product
● Taste (in comparison to its dairy counterpart) (40 %)
● Texture (in comparison to its dairy counterpart) (20 %)
● Look (in comparison to its dairy counterpart) (10 %)
● Overall value proposition, ingredients, sustainability, price (15 %)
● Scalability (15 %)
If you have a technology or an ingredient:
● Potential to improve current plant-based cheese alternative products (40 %)
● Scalability (15 %)
● Cost-competitiveness (15 %)
● Innovativeness (30 %)
Please get in touch with us: cheesealternative@lidl.de