Jay&Joy

Jay&Joy is a French plant-based cheese brand founded in Paris in 2014 by Mary Iriarte Jähnke and Eric Jähnke. It is described as France’s first producer devoted entirely to vegan cheese alternatives. The founders combined a vegan outlook with an interest in traditional cheesemaking: Mary Iriarte Jähnke, who had previously worked in fashion, studied cheesemaking with a master cheesemaker, while Eric Jähnke brought an engineering background to the venture. The company’s products are designed to reproduce some of the textures, flavors, and maturation characteristics associated with conventional cheese without using dairy ingredients. The brand’s recipes primarily use Spanish almonds, with selected products based on cashews or sunflower seeds and flavored with spices and other ingredients. Its best-known product is Joséphine, a soft-ripened cheese alternative modeled on Camembert and made from almond and cashew preparations. The wider range has included spreadable, cultured, and aged-style plant-based products intended for direct consumption, cooking, or use on cheese boards. Jay&Joy initially produced in Paris’s 11th arrondissement and secured its first retail partnership with the French organic supermarket chain Biocoop. In 2018, it began exporting, first entering Belgium through Bio-Planet, the organic retail chain operated by Colruyt Group. Distribution later expanded to the Netherlands and Germany, with exports accounting for about 20% of revenue by September 2021 according to the cited reference material. The company moved production to La Croix-Saint-Ouen, north of Paris, in 2019. That relocation increased its production area from approximately 60 square metres to 450 square metres. In addition to retail and online distribution, Jay&Joy has operated La crèmerie végétale, a plant-based cheese shop in Paris’s 11th arrondissement. Although the brand was created for vegan consumers, its customer base has also included substantial numbers of people avoiding lactose; reference material from around 2020 indicated that lactose-intolerant customers outnumbered vegans among its buyers. This positioned Jay&Joy at the intersection of vegan food, dairy-free diets, organic retail, and premium artisanal food. The company faced a major food-safety crisis in 2023 when all of its products were recalled after several cases of listeriosis were linked to consumption of Jay&Joy products. The reported cases particularly affected pregnant women and were suspected of contributing to premature births. The recall became the most significant public event in the brand’s history and materially disrupted its commercial activity. In June 2023, César Augier and an investment fund announced the acquisition of Jay&Joy. The reference material also reports that in January 2025 the company announced a plan to double production capacity through the acquisition of Les Nouveaux Affineurs and a stated investment of €2 million. The supplied material does not identify the precise legal owner, transaction structure, or a source URL for those 2025 financial details. By 2025, Jay&Joy was reported as being distributed in ten European countries.

Jay&Joy was established in Paris in 2014 by Mary Iriarte Jähnke and Eric Jähnke, a vegan couple with French-Venezuelan and German backgrounds respectively. Mary had worked in fashion before founding the company, while Eric had trained as an engineer. Their objective was to create French-made vegan cheeses that could offer more than simple dairy substitutes by using fermentation, maturation, and techniques associated with traditional cheesemaking. Mary studied with a master cheesemaker, reflecting the founders’ emphasis on craft and process. The company began production in Paris’s 11th arrondissement. Its first retail partner was Biocoop, a major French organic retail chain, which gave the young brand access to consumers already interested in organic and alternative foods. Jay&Joy later added direct and online sales and opened La crèmerie végétale, a dedicated plant-based cheese shop in the same Paris arrondissement. International expansion began in 2018, when Jay&Joy entered Belgium through Bio-Planet, the organic chain operated by Colruyt Group. The brand subsequently expanded into the Netherlands and Germany. By September 2021, exports were reported to represent approximately one-fifth of company revenue. The company’s products were made primarily from Spanish almonds, while some recipes used cashews or sunflower seeds. Joséphine, an almond-and-cashew product styled after Camembert, became its leading product. Growing demand led Jay&Joy to move production from Paris to La Croix-Saint-Ouen, north of the capital, in 2019. The new facility increased the production floor from roughly 60 square metres to 450 square metres. The brand’s consumer base extended beyond vegans: around 2020, the company reportedly found that customers with lactose intolerance outnumbered vegan customers, demonstrating the broader appeal of its dairy-free products. Jay&Joy’s expansion was interrupted by a serious food-safety incident in 2023. Following several reported listeriosis cases associated with consumption of Jay&Joy products, the company recalled its entire product range. The reported patients included pregnant women, and the infections were suspected of being associated with premature births. The event was a major reputational and operational crisis for the brand and is the principal scandal associated with its history. In June 2023, César Augier and an investment fund announced the acquisition of Jay&Joy. The supplied reference material does not establish the complete ownership structure or the precise continuing roles of the founders after the transaction. In January 2025, Jay&Joy was reported to have announced the acquisition of Les Nouveaux Affineurs, together with a €2 million investment and a goal of doubling production capacity. By 2025, the brand was reported to be distributed in ten European countries. The available material does not provide enough detail to assess the completed status of the capacity expansion, the legal structure of the acquisition, or the company’s current financial performance.

• 2025

  Reported capacity expansion and acquisition plan

  [1]Jay and Joyen.wikipedia.org

  Jay&Joy is reported to have announced the acquisition of Les Nouveaux Affineurs, a €2 million investment, and a plan to double production capacity.

• 2023

  Full product recall following listeriosis cases

  [1]Jay and Joyen.wikipedia.org

  All Jay&Joy products were recalled after reported listeriosis cases were linked to consumption of the brand’s products.

• 2023

  Acquisition announced

  [1]Jay and Joyen.wikipedia.org

  César Augier and an investment fund announce the acquisition of Jay&Joy.

• 2021

  Exports reach approximately one-fifth of revenue

  [1]Jay and Joyen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material reports that exports represented about 20 percent of revenue by September 2021.

• 2019

  Production moves to La Croix-Saint-Ouen

  [1]Jay and Joyen.wikipedia.org

  The company relocates production from Paris to a larger facility north of the capital, expanding the production floor from about 60 to 450 square metres.

• 2018

  Exports begin in Belgium

  [1]Jay and Joyen.wikipedia.org

  Jay&Joy begins international distribution through Bio-Planet, the Belgian organic retail chain operated by Colruyt Group.

• 2014

  Jay&Joy founded in Paris

  [1]Jay and Joyen.wikipedia.org

  Mary Iriarte Jähnke and Eric Jähnke establish a French producer dedicated exclusively to vegan cheese alternatives.

Premium French plant-based cheese made with fermentation and cheesemaking-inspired maturation techniques, positioned for vegan, lactose-intolerant, and flexitarian consumers seeking dairy-free alternatives with artisanal characteristics.

• Soft-ripened plant-based cheese

  Joséphine

  Jay&Joy’s best-known product is an almond-and-cashew cheese alternative modeled on Camembert. It is designed to provide a soft-ripened, cultured format associated with French cheese traditions while remaining free of dairy ingredients. Joséphine has been central to the brand’s identity and is presented as a flagship example of its fermentation and maturation approach.

• Plant-based cheese alternatives

  Jay&Joy almond-based cheeses

  A core group of Jay&Joy products uses Spanish almonds as the principal base. These products apply fermentation and cheesemaking-inspired processing to create dairy-free alternatives in formats intended for spreading, serving on a cheese board, or incorporating into meals. The supplied reference material does not provide a complete product-by-product catalogue.

• Plant-based cheese alternatives

  Jay&Joy cashew and sunflower-seed cheeses

  In addition to almond-based recipes, Jay&Joy has made products using cashews or sunflower seeds, often combined with spices and other flavoring ingredients. These bases allow the brand to vary texture and flavor across its plant-based range. Exact product names, launch dates, and current availability are not specified in the supplied sources.

• 2023

  Listeriosis-linked product recall

  Jay&Joy recalled all products after several listeriosis cases were linked to consumption of its merchandise. The reported cases included pregnant women and were suspected of having contributed to premature births. The available reference does not provide a detailed regulatory investigation, final causation findings, or the precise number of affected people.

  Source

Read more

• 2025

  Reported acquisition of Les Nouveaux AffineursM&A

  Background

  Jay&Joy sought to expand manufacturing capacity and strengthen its position in the European plant-based cheese sector.

  Action taken

  The company was reported to have announced the acquisition of Les Nouveaux Affineurs, a €2 million investment, and a plan to double production capacity.

  Aftermath

  The supplied material does not confirm completion of the transaction or the resulting production capacity.

  Announced investment. €2 million (January 2025 announcement)

  Source

• 2023

  Acquisition by César Augier and an investment fundM&A

  Background

  Following the company’s product-recall crisis, a change in ownership was announced.

  Action taken

  César Augier, together with an investment fund, announced the acquisition of Jay&Joy.

  Aftermath

  The supplied sources do not establish the final legal ownership structure, transaction value, or the continuing roles of the founders.

  Source

• 2019

  Move production to a larger facilityStrategy

  Background

  The company needed greater manufacturing capacity as its retail and international distribution expanded.

  Action taken

  Jay&Joy moved production from Paris to La Croix-Saint-Ouen and increased its production floor from approximately 60 to 450 square metres.

  Aftermath

  The relocation created a substantially larger production base, although the supplied material does not quantify its effect on output or revenue.

  Source

1. 1Jay and Joyen.wikipedia.org