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Anne Guth, 28, launched her company Les Petits Veganne after struggling to find reasonably-priced vegan cheese in France.

Her Camembert is made from cashew nut milk and appears virtually indistinguishable to the eye from the usual white circular blocks.

However, perhaps not the taste. When challenged in a blind tasting test conducted by the news site FranceInfo, cheesemonger Cl茅ment Maudet said: 鈥淭he texture is bizarre 鈥� it鈥檚 quite mousse-like. It is a very mild product, but with a not-altogether pleasant aftertaste.鈥�

While cheap industrial Camembert costs 鈧�1.41 and its more specialist AOP raw milk version costs 鈧�6, the vegan version will set you back 鈧�10.90.

The process of making the vegan Camembert is similar to that when using normal milk, combining the cashew nut milk with cultures, fermenting it to create the shape, and maturing it for taste over at least one month. The only stage that is missed is the curdling process seen with normal milk, but otherwise the process includes the fermentation stage, the refinement process, and final maturation. The Lorraine-based company also makes blue cheese (Le Bleu Lorrain) and garlic soft cheese (Le Petit Frais 脿 l鈥橝il) and hopes to produce upwards of 3,000 鈥榗heeses鈥� per month.

Independent cheese makers and factory rivals in Normandy have agreed to meet this month to discuss an agreement over the labels Camembert AOP de Normandie and Fabriqu茅 en Normandie.

It is hoped the meeting end the 鈥楥amembert wars鈥� between major industrial producers, whose cheeses are Fabriqu茅 en Normandie using pasteurised milk and independent artisans, who stick to traditional techniques and use unpasteurised milk as demanded by the strict appellation d鈥檕rigine prot茅g茅e (AOP)label.