Chicago Vegan Foods, which introduced Dandies, the first internationally available vegan and gelatin-free marshmallow, is turning 20 years old tomorrow, August 27th. Family owned and self-funded, Ryan Howard and Dan Ziegler founded the company in 2001 to channel their activism into a business that could bring awareness to animal rights and create alternatives to products that were harmful to animals and the environment. Reflecting on their humble beginnings, Howard notes, “We started in my tiny basement and now manufacture out of our own 40,000 square foot, fully vegan facility. We can manufacture over 18 tons of marshmallows a day, which is over 100 miles worth of marshmallows placed end to end!”
Today, Dandies’ vegan, clean-label, and allergy-friendly marshmallows are a top-selling item in the U.S. natural channel, sold across the U.S. and Canada, plus select retailers in the U.K., and are a popular item for foodservice and industrial applications.
Propelled by the success of Dandies and the explosion of the plant-based market, Chicago Vegan Foods has experienced 40x growth over the past 10 years. An expansion into its current SQF certified facility in 2018 allowed the company to meet growing demand with increased capacity, automated production, and customized, state-of-the-art equipment. The company is currently ramping up for a new line of plant-based product offerings in new categories launching under the Dandies brand for 2022.
