Miyoko Schinner, the founder of US plant-based dairy brand Miyoko’s Creamery, said she has been unsuccessful in taking back ownership of the company after it was put up for sale last month.

Schinner founded the start-up, which produces vegan artisan cheese and butter products, in California in 2014.

In 2022, she was removed from the company and her role as CEO, and a legal dispute was initiated in which the company’s leadership team accused Schinner of stealing confidential information. The lawsuit was settled in May 2023, with Schinner and the company wishing each other well and parting ways.

Last week, AgFunderNews reported that Miyoko’s Creamery had entered an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC) process due to entering insolvency after it was ‘unable to pay its debts in full’.

Schinner publicly announced her intention to bid for ownership of the business again, and shared a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign on LinkedIn to help support her with the cost of the transaction.

Though she raised over $103,000, Schinner revealed this morning (11 November 2025) that she was unsuccessful.

In a LinkedIn post, she wrote: “The company that bears my name went to someone else with a higher bid. While they may have deeper pockets, I may have deeper connections with the community. At the end of the day, I'd rather take that to my grave than a pile of money.”

Schinner said that she has now begun initiating the refund process with GoFundMe, returning funds to the over 1600 people who donated via the crowdfunding site.

In another LinkedIn post shared yesterday, she said the liquidator has a fiduciary responsibility to accept the highest bid, adding: “48 hours wasn't enough to solidify deals, figure out the structure of a new entity, and make sure that the funds would not be a simple spin on a roulette wheel”.

“I would like to add that had the company approached me at the outset and offered to sell it back to me, this might have been a different story. Instead, I found out about the auction through word of mouth, through the public sphere.”

So far, the winning bidder has not been identified or issued a public statement. According to AgFunderNews’ report, Resolution Financial Advisors handled the ABC process.

However, the company has not yet released a statement or responded to FoodBev Media’s enquiries.