A Look Back At 2019: Highlights For Veganism In India

2019 was a year that saw veganism grow and thrive in India in a number of ways. From brand launches and new initiatives by advocacy groups to the country’s first vegan conference, 2019 was a great ride. Here’s a roundup of some of the good stuff that happened in the Indian vegan ecosystem this year!

Vegan Cheese? Yes Please!

Being a vegan doesn’t mean you have to give up cheese – not when there are home-grown, stretchy, melty, gooey vegan cheeses to be had right here in India! There’s been a rise in the number of vegan cheese brands available (Bombay Cheese Company, Soft Spot Foods, Domingo Cheese, Live Yum Foods, Cowvathi are some of the names we know) and quite a few of them ship pan-India. Many brands have also tied up with restaurants to make vegan dishes easily available to diners. Soft Spot Cheese, for example, tied up with PizzaExpress to create vegan cheese pizzas. This piece of news was one of the most talked-about on our social media platforms, highlighting just how great the demand for vegan cheese in India is.

Winner, Winner Vegan Dinner

Dining out if you’re a vegan has gotten a whole lot better thanks to the rise in pure vegan restaurants as well as vegan menus in non-vegan restaurants. Two pure vegan cafes opened up in Mumbai this year (Earthlings Café, Lokhandwala and Earth Café, Waterfield Road) and the year also saw the opening of some speciality restaurants in other parts, like House Of Seitan (a seitan-focused eatery) in Bangalore. Non-vegan restaurants have also begun to accommodate special vegan menus and dishes. Vegan First partnered with Dario’s in Pune to curate a separate vegan menu, and larger chains like FabCafe have clearly marked vegan dishes and drinks on their menus.

Make Way For Mockmeat

There are two well-known shelf-stable mockmeat brands available in India, Good Dot and Vezlay. Both are available pan-India thanks to Amazon. And that’s not all – Good Dot has entered the QSR game this year with kiosks (named GoodDo) in Rajasthan and Mumbai, making their products easily available to a larger audience.

Alt-Milk All The Way

Perhaps the most easily noticeable change is the growth in the number of plant-milk options on store shelves, restaurant menus and in coffee shops. National chains like Starbucks and Café Coffee Day now have the options of soy and almond milk (at an extra fee, of course.) The latest to join in is artisanal coffee brewing company Blue Tokai (they operate 26 cafes in India) who have partnered with Bangalore-based Goodmylk to offer vegan oat and cashew milk to consumers at no extra cost.

Goodmylk is among a growing crop of Indian plant milk companies, manufacturing and selling in India at affordable prices. The brand is available nationwide and consumers can order directly through their website. All the milk is manufactured in their state of the art facility in Bangalore. The company has raised Rs. 3 crore in their second seed round from some of the most prolific investors in the plant-based space. This round follows the Rs. 2.5 Cr they raised in January 2018, bringing their total funding to Rs. 5.5 Cr to date.

Another homegrown brand is Faymylk. They too, ship nationwide through their website, and what makes them unique is that they source all their almonds from Kashmir (as opposed to importing nuts from the United States.)

While Goodmylk and Faymylk produce at an industrial level, there are several other small-batch makers who are experimenting with nut milks and blended nut milks. Mumbai has Break Of Dawn, which delivers within the city, while Chennai has Wegun - a brand that retails a variety of nut milks and even has a small café. Carrots restaurant in Bangalore also retails plant milks and other forms of plant dairy.

Jus’ Amazin is another Bangalore-based brand that makes nut butters and a unique almond paste which, when combined with water, makes instant almond milk. The product is quite revolutionary – made with almonds and nothing else – and is shelf-stable and portable. Check out their Instagram and you’ll see the enthusiasm with which consumers are lapping it up!

Whether it’s ethical vegans, lactose intolerant consumers or just people who wish to adopt a dairy-free diet for health reasons, the demand for vegan milk is clearly on the rise.

The Government Gets Vegan-Friendly

One of the most telling signs of changing attitudes was the government’s willingness to put veganism out there. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare released a poster as part of its #EatRightIndia campaign, encouraging the people of India to embrace a plant-based diet for better health and to fight climate change. More recently, the Ministry of AYUSH also pushed people in the direction of veganism, asking people to take part in Veganuary.

Celebrities Going Green

The number of athletes and celebs following a vegan diet has also seen quite an increase - from Virat Kohli and Sunil Chettri to Shraddha Kapoor and others. Internationally, the documentary The Game Changers, focused on elite athletes who follow a vegan diet, has caused quite a stir amongst the health and fitness conscious, prompting many to switch to a plant-based diet.

Vegans Unite!

The year also saw a rise in marches, outreach activities and gatherings. The multi-city Animal Liberation March India saw thousands take to the streets in Pune, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata. A conference focused exclusively on climate change, health and sustainability (Pune Health and Sustainability Summit) examined the link between what we eat and it’s effect on the planet – and saw star speakers like Dr. Sailesh Rao (founder, Climate Healers) and Game Of Thrones star Jerome Flynn. The Future Of Protein summit in Delhi in November saw the coming together of several stakeholders in the food industry, illuminating the way forward for a sustainable food system. And of course, we can’t help but mention the country’s first vegan business conference, the Vegan India Conference, that took place in July as a partnership between the World Vegan Organisation and Vegan First: 18 countries, 16+ talks and lectures and 450 participants!

All these events brought together hundreds of vegan, vegan-curious and transitioning vegans, and the energy and enthusiasm were palpable.

The Ahimsa Fest, organized by Ahimsa Parmo Dharma group, has also been instrumental in bringing vegan businesses, services and consumers together. The December 2018 edition had a footfall of 10,000 people - and the next edition is set to take place in January 2020. 

The Future Is Vegan

We’re living in a world where the message of compassion is getting louder by the day – and we’re confident that the future looks bright for veganism in India!

_{*Feature image courtesy TOI.}