Why Vegan Butter Sticks are Disappearing (and What to Use Instead)

This guide contains multiple updates. Click the links below to jump directly to any section.

• Earth Balance Updates
• Miyoko’s Updates
• Trader Joe’s Updates
• Violife Updates
• Walmart Bettergoods Updates
• I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter/Flora Updates
• Miyoko Schinner’s Butter Recipes
• Country Crock Updates
• Wayfare Updates

If you’re a vegan baker, you may have noticed something lately and no, it’s not just you. The vegan butter sticks and blocks that many of us relied on for years have quietly disappeared from shelves. Not the soft tubs. Not the spreads. The solid, sliceable, bake-friendly butter that actually behaves like dairy butter. Over the past year, several brands have either exited or paused this category entirely. And for bakers, that’s a meaningful change that can really affect how recipes perform. Here’s what I know is happening, which products are gone (or in limbo), and why a lot of folks are now making homemade vegan butter.

Earth Balance Discontinues “Buttery Sticks” for “Plant Butter Sticks”

After much discussion with the brand, it appears that Earth Balance “Buttery” Sticks were quietly discontinued and replaced by a renamed product now sold as “Plant Butter Sticks.”

While their social team would not explicitly confirm it is a replacement, a side-by-side comparison of packaging, ingredients, and nutrition strongly suggests that the Plant Butter Sticks are the direct successor.

What changed (and what didn’t).

Product name:

• Old: Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks
• New: Earth Balance Plant Butter Sticks

The word “buttery” has been removed, but the format (4 sticks, 16 oz) remains the same.

Ingredient comparison

Buttery Sticks (discontinued):

Vegetable oil blend (palm oil, canola oil), water, less than 2% of: olive oil, salt, natural flavor, pea protein isolate, sunflower lecithin, lactic acid, annatto extract (color)

Plant Butter Sticks (current):

Vegetable oil blend (palm oil, canola oil), water, less than 2% of: salt, pea protein isolate, olive oil, sunflower lecithin, lactic acid, natural flavor, vitamin A palmitate, annatto extract (color)

Notable ingredient differences

• Vitamin A palmitate appears in the newer Plant Butter Sticks (yes, it’s from vegan sources).
• Order of minor ingredients shifts slightly (still under 2%).
• Core fat base and emulsifiers remain the same.

Functionally, these differences are minor and unlikely to change baking performance.

What this likely means

While Earth Balance has not confirmed the Plant Butter Sticks as the formal replacement, the evidence suggests:

• Buttery Sticks were phased out.
• Plant Butter Sticks were introduced as the ongoing version.
• The product itself remains largely unchanged in ingredients, nutrition, and intended use.

This kind of quiet rename is common in packaged food, especially when brands adjust language, positioning, or regulatory terminology without wanting to disrupt shelf presence.

Where to find the new Earth Balance Plant Butter Sticks

Although Earth Balance has shifted from the old Buttery Sticks name to Plant Butter Sticks, availability at retail is still spotty and inconsistent which is why many people are having trouble locating them.

At the time of writing, the new Earth Balance Plant Butter Sticks are showing up in a few online and regional retailer listings, even though they may not be stocked widely in every grocery store. Here are some places where they’ve been spotted:

• Walmart: Earth Balance Plant Butter Sticks appear in the Walmart online product gallery (16 oz, 4-stick format) with vegan labeling and ingredient panels matching the product packaging currently listed.
• Regional grocery stores: Some regional supermarket chains (such as H-E-B, based on product listings) have Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks or Plant Butter Sticks in their butter/margarine category online, indicating that certain locations may carry the renamed item.

Because this line appears to have replaced the old “Buttery Sticks” quietly, some stores may still be selling through existing stock under slightly different naming, while others may not have reordered yet. That means you may still find them in some locations (especially larger retailers with broader plant-based sections) even if they’re not universally stocked.

I’ll continue to actively monitor availability and labeling changes and update this coverage if anything shifts.

What Happening with Miyoko’s Brand and Their Butters?

Miyoko Schinner founded Miyoko’s Creamery in 2014 and built something genuinely groundbreaking in plant based dairy. To fuel that growth she took on over $77 million in venture capital from firms and it was a decision she publicly embraced enthusiastically at the time.

Venture capital usually comes with strings though. Investors generally expect returns and professional management at scale, and that tension unfortunately led to her removal as CEO in June 2022. Lawsuits followed on both sides before they reached an eventual settlement. The company continued to struggle though and in late 2025 entered a liquidation process. Schinner mounted a last minute crowd funded bid to reclaim the brand but the liquidators were legally required to accept the highest offer. Prosperity Organic Foods won and Schinner herself has since confirmed the company was not stolen from her legally, only metaphorically in a post on Instagram.

One common misconception worth clarifying is that Prosperity Organic Foods is not the company that ousted Miyoko. They are an independent privately held business that simply won a legal bidding process. The removal happened years earlier under her own board.

Many vegans have chosen not to support the relaunched brand though and their reasons are valid. CEO Scott Fischer is a confirmed bowhunter, which sits uncomfortably with a vegan customer base, and his dismissive public comments about Schinner following the acquisition did little to win community goodwill. Although the new company is now slowly bringing products back to retail, most hearts are with Miyoko on this one, and the vegan community that embraces her seems to be turning their back on them and will not support them.

Update 4/11/26: Relaunch Details Confirmed

Since publishing, additional reporting has confirmed that Miyoko’s products are expected to return to store shelves late spring 2026. This aligns with earlier information I shared, indicating that production is being restarted under the new ownership, with products gradually returning to retail.

As I reported earlier, the relaunch is expected to include core items like butter, spreads, and cream cheese, and it’s now confirmed there will be no changes to the original formulations and recipes.

At the same time, founder Miyoko Schinner has made clear that she is no longer involved with the company and is distancing herself from the brand moving forward. As a result, the products returning to shelves will carry the Miyoko’s name, but that’s it.

As distribution resumes, availability will likely vary by region as products make their way back into stores.

Update 6/8/26: Miyoko’s Plant Milk Butter Back on Shelves

Miyoko’s butter is back, and the Plant Milk Butter in salted and unsalted and the Oat Milk Butter tubs are showing up in stores now. I spotted it at Sprouts but it should also be showing up at Whole Foods, Kroger and Safeway amongst others. I compared the new labels side by side against pre-acquisition packaging and can confirm the formulas are unchanged across all three products. The block sizes remain 8 oz and the Oat Milk Butter tub remains 12 oz. No shrinkflation either. For some fans the return comes with strong feelings given the acquisition and Miyoko Schinner’s departure from the brand, and that is completely valid. Most who were supporters before have vowed they will not support the new brand now as evidenced by a recent post of mine where the community spoke out firmly against this relaunch so time will tell the effects of this backlash. I have Miyokos recipes for her butter below as so many are now making it at home rather than support the new company.

Trader Joe’s Quietly Axed Their Vegan Block Butter Too

Add Trader Joe’s to the list.

As I reported a while back, Trader Joe’s discontinued its vegan butter blocks without any announcement which is very on brand for them. One day it was there, the next it wasn’t.

For many shoppers, this was the budget-friendly backup when other brands were out of stock. Its disappearance further shrank an already narrowing category.

Update 5/21/26: Violife discontinues their block butter

Violife has confirmed that their plant butter has been discontinued via an email response from the Violife Careline Team stating the product is no longer available. In the reply, they directed customers toward Country Crock as an alternative, noting that both brands fall under the Flora Food Group umbrella. So if you’ve been relying on Violife butter and can’t find it, that’s why, it’s gone, not just out of stock. Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks remain a solid option in the same product family.

6/10/2026: Walmart’s Bettergoods Launches Plant Butter Sticks

Walmart has entered the dairy free butter sticks space with their new bettergoods Dairy Free Butter, a two stick salted option made with coconut oil, avocado oil, and butter beans for $3.48. The formula skips seed oils and palm oil entirely which is impressive for a store brand at this price point, but it is worth noting that you are getting two sticks rather than the four stick packs most other butter brands offer. That makes the per stick cost higher than it appears on the shelf tag, so factor that in if you are a regular baker or planning to stock up.

Update 6/11/26: What’s Going On with the Vegan I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Tubs

Shoppers across multiple regions have reported to me that they can no longer find the vegan ICBINB tubs on shelves, and I’m seeing the same thing near me. Some may still spot it in some stores or online, but the SKU is no longer part of their active product lineup online. When a major company removes a product from its site, it typically means it has been pulled from production, even if no formal discontinuation is announced so signs point to the product being quietly discontinued or in the process of being phased out.

This fits into a larger pattern at Flora Food Group (formerly Upfield) which owns ICBINB and Violife brands which recently discontinued their vegan butter block as reported earlier in this post. Industry reporting shows Flora is preparing for a potential sale and has been walking back the full dairy‑free commitment it publicly made several years ago. While non-dairy as a category is still growing globally, US retail seems to tell a different story, with non-dairy butter down 4% and non-dairy cheese down 10% last year. For a company being prepped for sale, soft US numbers could have factored into this decision.

Some are Throwing It Back and Making Homemade Vegan Butter Again

Before vegan butter sticks were plentiful in stores, Miyoko Schinner had published several homemade vegan butter recipes using the same basic method but slightly different ingredients and ratios.

With store-bought vegan butter sticks becoming harder to find, more people are turning back to making it at home. Her recipes aren’t complicated and some have commented that it’s a jab at the new owners of her company that she recently published another simplified version of her recipe yet again but that’s just speculation. Most feel she’s just being generous and kind by sharing her recipes.

Miyoko Schinner‘s Vegan Butter Recipes (Three Versions)

1. Her Original Cookbook Version (2015)

Best for: serious baking, pastry, structure, and lamination.

This version comes from her book The Homemade Vegan Pantry and seems to be the most technical and stable of the three.

• 1 1/2 cups refined coconut oil, melted (not extra-virgin)
• 1/2 cup plant milk (soy, almond, cashew — cold)
• 1/4 cup neutral oil (canola, grapeseed, or light olive)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons liquid lecithin (helps emulsify and firm the butter)

Instructions (Store in the refrigerator for 3–4 weeks or freeze for longer).

Place all ingredients into a blender. Blend at medium speed for about 1 minute until the mixture is thick and smooth. Pour into a container lined with parchment or a silicone mold. Refrigerate for a few hours (or freeze briefly) until firm.

2. The VegNews Version (2013/2025)

Best for: home bakers who want reliability without specialty ingredients. This widely shared version removes lecithin and simplifies the process while keeping the same emulsification technique.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cold vegan milk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups refined coconut oil, melted but not hot
• 1/4 cup cold neutral oil (canola, grapeseed, or light olive oil)

Place all ingredients into a blender. Blend at medium speed for about 1 minute until the mixture is thick and smooth. Pour into a container lined with parchment or a silicone mold. Refrigerate for a few hours (or freeze briefly) until firm.

This recipe was developed by Miyoko Schinner and published by VegNews. The technique is based on the emulsified vegan butter method she originally introduced in The Homemade Vegan Pantry (2015).

It’s sliceable, bake-friendly, and much easier to make with standard grocery-store ingredients.

3. New “3-Ingredient” Version

(This is the simplified modern method promoted with Miyoko’s latest cookbook and social posts.)

Makes about 1 pound.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup refined coconut oil, melted but not hot
• 1 cup cold liquid oil (avocado, sunflower, or another neutral oil)
• 1/2–1 cup cold plant-based milk (soy, oat, cashew — try 1/2 cup first)
• Salt, optional and to taste  

Instructions

1. Blend the melted coconut oil with the cold liquid oil first.
2. Add the cold plant milk and blend until the mixture thickens and resembles an emulsion (similar to mayonnaise).
3. Transfer to a container and chill until firm. 

If you’re not sure where to start:

If you bake a lot or make pastry: use the cookbook version.

If you want one solid all-purpose butter: use the VegNews version.

If you just need butter tonight: make the 3-ingredient version.

There’s no wrong choice, just different tools for different needs.

Store-Bought Vegan Butter Sticks & Blocks Still Available plus a brand new option from Wayfare

Country Crock Plant Butter & Homestyle Sticks

There’s been some confusion online about this, so here’s an answer I’ve researched:

Country Crock confirms that all products in their Plant Butter line are vegan and suitable for vegan diets.

Their term “Homestyle” refers to the flavor (salted or unsalted) not a separate non-vegan product line.

That means they are plant-based and dairy-free according to the company and ingredient lists.

The only ingredient some strict vegans may question is “natural flavors,” which can be ambiguous in general, but Country Crock still classifies these products as vegan.

Wayfare debuts new butter sticks in four varieties at NatExpo West 2026

Wayfare Foods also previewed an expansion into the butter category at this year’s Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, debuting four new plant-based butter sticks that could help fill the growing gap in the category. The lineup includes Unsalted, Salted, Garlic Herb, and Brown Sugar Cinnamon varieties. While the products were shown as upcoming releases rather than items currently on store shelves, the company indicated they are hoping to bring the new sticks to retail sometime later this year. If widely distributed, the move could offer another option for shoppers who prefer traditional stick-style vegan butter for baking, cooking, and spreading. 

If your recipe relies on creaming, structure, or lamination, always choose stick or block formats over tubs when possible.

No one is saying vegan butter is disappearing entirely, but the availability of affordable vegan butter sticks and blocks lessening at least for now. Spreads though are not immune either as the whole category is trending slightly downward at least in the USA. As brands consolidate, home cooks are adapting the way they always have, by learning, sharing, and making things themselves. In a strange way, it feels like a full-circle moment. Before vegan butter was everywhere this is how some made it themselves, and it still works great!