| Follow Your Heart | |
| Founders: | Michael Besançon, Bob Goldberg, Paul Lewin, and Spencer Windbiel |
| Predecessor: | Johnny Weissmuller’s American Natural Foods |
| Location: | Canoga Park, California |
| Industry: | Vegetarian and Vegan Food |
| Products: | Vegenaise |
| Parent: | Danone |
Follow Your Heart is a vegan and vegetarian food company that began in 1970 as a restaurant in Canoga Park, California. In 1977, they began selling Vegenaise, an egg-free mayonnaise substitute whose name is a portmanteau of vegetarian and mayonnaise.[1] The company now also produces other lines of vegan food, such as vegan cheeses, salad dressings, and VeganEgg.
The company began as a sandwich counter in the back of a market called Johnny Weissmuller's American Natural Foods in Canoga Park.[2] In 1994 the restaurant and store suffered serious damage in the Los Angeles earthquake, but remained in business.[3]
The company developed a line of its own vegetarian food. One of its first successes was Vegenaise, which became the best-selling vegan mayonnaise replacement in the US,[4] invented by co-founder Bob Goldberg.[5] Up to fifty million gallons of it are produced annually, and the product is also sold in various alternate forms,[6] including soy-free (where the soy is replaced with pea protein powder). They developed a line of deli products, first available commercially in 1988 after a local grocer asked the restaurant to begin packaging its tofu salads for them to put out for sale, focused on plant-based replacements for more traditional non-vegan foods [7] such as sliced cheese replacements mirroring the flavors of various types of cheese.[8] Its products are sold in 23 countries, with a turnover of about $50 million in revenues per year.[9]
In 2015, Follow Your Heart was named the company of the year by PETA. That year the company also partnered with musician Lil B to produce an app of Follow Your Heart-inspired emojis;[10] the company's mascot is itself named VegEmoji.[11]
In February 2021, Follow Your Heart was acquired by the European food company, Danone.[12] [13]