Cheryl Mitchell

Cheryl Mitchell is an American plant food scientist who created the HydroRelease milling process.[1] She is the chief scientist at Elmhurst Milked and the creator of a line of plant-based milks.

Mitchell started her career after getting her Ph.D. specializing in carbohydrate chemistry by developing Rice Dream rice milk for natural foods company Imagine Foods. [2] In 2001, she left Imagine Foods,[3] bought a research facility in California and spent five years working for herself and developing a process for creating plant-based milk that equaled the protein level of dairy.[2] Her HydroRelease milling process allows anyone to separate the natural component of a grain, nut or seed before reassembling them into a beverage.[4]

In 2017, she partnered with Henry Schwartz,[5] owner of Elmhurst Dairy, to bring her technology to market[6] and create the plant-based beverage company Elmhurst 1925. She moved from California to Elma, New York to become the chief scientist of Elmhurst Milked[7] and her first four plant-based milks came to market in January 2017.[8] As of 2019, they had 11 varieties on the market.[7][9]

Mitchell's father, William A. Mitchell, was a food scientist as well and inventor.[10]