Earth Balance

What Earth Balance does

Earth Balance is a US-based plant-based food brand founded in Boulder, Colorado in 1998 and currently operating as a wholly-owned brand subsidiary of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG). The company manufactures and markets vegan, dairy-free, and largely Non-GMO Project Verified products spanning four core categories: Buttery Spreads (including its founding Original Buttery Spread using non-GMO, expeller-pressed oils), Buttery Sticks for baking, plant-based Nut Butters, and Savory Snacks. Its underlying technology centers on solvent-free expeller-pressed oil processing and RSPO Mass Balance-certified palm oil sourcing, with formulation expertise accumulated over more than two decades.

Name

Earth Balance

Legal name

Earth Balance (brand of Conagra, Inc.)

Website

https://earthbalancenatural.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plant-Based Dairy Alternatives

NAICS

Dairy Product (except Frozen) Manufacturing (31151), Food Manufacturing (311)

SIC

Dairy Products (2020), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Plant-Based Butter & Spread Alternatives Processing (Margarine-style, Cultured Spreads) (AFAHAJAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Dairy Alternatives (Plant-Based Milk, Yogurt, Creamers) (CRADACAF)

Keywords

• Plant-based spreads
• Vegan butter alternatives
• Dairy-free baking sticks
• Plant-based nut butters
• Non-GMO snacks

Headquarters

HQ city

Tallahassee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Consumer Packaged Goods Sales: Earth Balance generates revenue through the sale of consumer packaged goods including vegan buttery spreads, baking sticks, nut butters, and snacks. Products are sold through retail grocery stores and direct online channels as a CPG (consumer packaged goods) brand under parent company Conagra Brands.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Earth Balance manufactures and sells a portfolio of plant-based, vegan, dairy-free food products including non-GMO, expeller-pressed buttery spreads, vegan buttery baking sticks, nut butters (including peanut butter spreads), and savory snacks. Founded in 1998 in Boulder, Colorado, the brand targets consumers seeking meltable, plant-based alternatives to traditional dairy butter for baking, cooking, spreading, and snacking. Products are sold under the Conagra Brands portfolio through grocery retail and direct online channels.

Product overview

Earth Balance is a plant-based food company offering a portfolio of vegan products including Original Buttery Spread (their founding 1998 product), Buttery Spreads in multiple varieties, Buttery Sticks for baking, Nut Butters (including peanut butter spreads), and Savory Snacks. All products are vegan, dairy-free, and non-GMO Project Verified (with palm oil sourced from RSPO-certified members). The product line spans spreads for cooking and spreading, sticks for baking, nut-based proteins, and snacks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Original Buttery Spread The company's founding non-GMO, expeller-pressed buttery spread, designed to provide dairy-free, meltable buttery flavor for vegans, plant-based eaters, and mainstream consumers for use in cooking, baking, and spreading.
• Buttery Spreads (Varieties) Line of plant-based buttery spreads available in multiple varieties, offering dairy-free meltable buttery goodness for cooking, spreading, and baking.
• Buttery Sticks Vegan buttery sticks in stick format designed for baking, providing a dairy-free alternative to traditional butter for use in recipes.
• Nut Butters Plant-based nut butter spreads including peanut butter spreads, offering vegan protein-rich alternatives for snacking and spreading.
• Savory Snacks Vegan savory snack products complementing the company's plant-based butter and spread offerings.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarth Balance sources palm oil from RSPO member organizations. The company is certified to the RSPO Mass Balance certification system, demonstrating commitment to sustainable palm oil sourcing. RSPO is a global organization promoting the growth and use of sustainable palm oil products.
• Non-GMO ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMany Earth Balance products are Non-GMO Project Verified, indicating third-party certification that products are made without genetically modified ingredients. This partnership provides credibility for the brand's non-GMO positioning.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Flora Plant-Based (Upfield): Flora is a plant-based spread brand owned by Upfield that competes with Earth Balance in the dairy-free butter alternative category, primarily in European and some North American markets, targeting similar use cases of spreading and baking.
• Melt Organic: Melt Organic is a plant-based buttery spread brand made with virgin coconut oil and other plant ingredients. It competes directly with Earth Balance in natural and mainstream channels for health-conscious, dairy-avoiding consumers.
• Miyoko's Creamery: Miyoko's Creamery is a leading specialty plant-based butter and cheese brand. It directly competes with Earth Balance in the plant-based butter/spread category, targeting similar vegan and dairy-avoiding consumers with premium formulations.
• Country Crock Plant Butter (Upfield): Country Crock Plant Butter, made by Upfield, is one of Earth Balance's largest direct competitors in the plant-based butter/spread category. Both brands are positioned as accessible, mainstream plant-based alternatives sold through major US grocery chains.

Broad incumbents

• Smart Balance (Conagra): Smart Balance is another spread brand owned by Conagra, focused on heart-healthy spreads with plant sterols. As a sibling brand within Conagra's portfolio, it competes for adjacent spreads shelf space and shared parent-company distribution resources.
• Benecol: Benecol is a functional spread brand formulated with plant stanols for cholesterol reduction. It competes in the health-positioned spreads category and shares some health-conscious consumer overlap with Earth Balance.
• Oatly: Oatly is a leading plant-based dairy brand best known for oat milk but expanding into adjacent categories like cooking creams, spreads, and ice cream. It represents a broader plant-based dairy alternative competitor that overlaps with Earth Balance in usage occasions and consumer segments.
• I Can't Believe It's Not Butter (Upfield): I Can't Believe It's Not Butter is a long-established margarine/spread brand owned by Upfield. While traditionally dairy-based, its plant-based variants compete for the same grocery spreads shelf space and consumer occasions as Earth Balance.

Emerging players

• Fora Foods: Fora Foods is an emerging plant-based butter brand focused on clean-label, premium formulations. It targets the same vegan and health-conscious consumer segments as Earth Balance but at a premium price point in natural and specialty channels.
• Violife (Upfield): Violife is a plant-based cheese and dairy alternatives brand owned by Upfield, including vegan butter alternatives. While focused primarily on cheese, its butter products compete for plant-based dairy-alternative shelf space and consumer mind-share with Earth Balance.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/earthbalancenatural
• Instagraminstagram.com/earthbalance
• Pinterestpinterest.com/earthbalance
• Xx.com/earth_balance

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Earth Balance