‘Dawn of a Plant Based Age’ Conference to be held in Delhi on March 14 as part of AAHAR 2023

March 13th, 2023

The ‘Dawn of a Plant Based Age’ Conference is set to take place on the first day of AAHAR 2023, an international food and hospitality fair, in New Delhi. The event will be held on March 14th at Hall no. 8 in Pragati Maidan, from 9:00 AM to 6 PM. It is being presented by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), and co-organised by Plant Based Foods Industry Association (PBFIA) and PHD Chamber. The conference is being supported by Franchise India and powered by USSOY, with Ernst & Young (EY) as the Knowledge Partner, Brenntag as the Principal Sponsor, and endorsed by the Government of Canada.

The conference will bring together top industry experts to discuss key topics such as the importance of achieving the right flavors and textures, plant-based dairy innovations and policies, investor insights, and the need for India to establish itself as an ingredients hub through the development of infrastructure projects such as the plant-protein cluster. The event’s goal is to create an ecosystem that supports the growth of plant-based foods. 

Sanjay Sethi, Executive Director, PBFIA, said, "As the world faces the challenges of climate change, food security, and ethical concerns related to animal agriculture, it is crucial for India to fully embrace and invest in this growing industry. The Dawn of a Plant-Based Age conference is a necessary step towards unlocking India's potential as a major supplier of plant-based proteins globally, pursuing cost-effective sources of supply and building an innovation ecosystem. We are thrilled to collaborate and receive support from APEDA and our other partners. For the first time ever, there is a PBFIA Plant Based Foods Pavillion in the 37th AAHAR, where more than 25 plant-based food companies are exhibiting in Hall Number 3 (ground floor) and Hall Number 5 (first floor).”

The conference will be graced and inaugurated by Hon’ble Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare as the Chief Guest. Some of the keynote speakers in the conference include Dr Sudhanshu, Secretary of APEDA; Sanoj Jha, Addl. Secretary of MoFPI; Pradeep Singh Kharola, Chairman & Managing Director of ITPO; Sanjay Sethi, Executive Director of Plant Based Foods Industry Association; VK Vidyarthi, General Manager of APEDA; Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General of PHD Chamber; Shri Gaurav Marya, President of Franchise India; Nitin Verma, Counsellor Agriculture of High Commission of Canada in India; and Ramkumar, PS and Regional Commercial Director of Brenntag.

“To cater to the plant-based foods market and offer the exact meaty taste at an affordable price, we must now start the work on the supply chain side. Utilizing superior-grade raw materials and enhancing plant-based foods processing can make India penetrate the export market. The first step is procuring raw materials such as human-grade soybeans, which inherently possess higher protein content, lower oligosaccharides and have no beany off-taste. Certain approaches, which include the cluster strategy, can aid in the development of efficient and cost-effective sources of supply, positioning the country as a major supplier of plant-based proteins globally, such as the announcement of one such plant protein cluster in Bhiwadi by PBFIA,” said Sanjay.

The conference is sponsored by Right to Protein, AAK, Ahimsa VC, Brinc, Continental Greenbird, So Good, Unibourne, Nourish You, Greenest, Symrise, Vezlay Foods, Wakao Foods, Le Meridien (New Delhi), Krystal Ventures, Innovation Asia, Veganta, Indian Culinary Forum, International Institute of Hotel Management – Delhi (IIHM), AgPulse Analytica, Sanitech Engineers, Vegan First, Roquette, Rishiraj Nutra Foods, Fair Exports (India), JBT and Innova Market Insights. Some of the companies that will display their plant-based products at the event include Vezlay Foods, Alt Foods, Blue Tribe Foods, Shaka Harry, Wakao Foods, So Good, Seaspire, Hello Tempayy, Taj Group of Companies and Dancing Cow. Vegan First's events producer, Simran Sood will be one of the speakers at the event.

“We must cultivate, develop, and mainstream the plant-based foods industry to assist India attain the Net Zero Carbon Emissions objective by 2070, move closer to the Sustainable Development Goals, and ensure food and nutritional security,” shared Sanjay. The conference will be a big step forward in this direction. 

To register, visit this link: https://lnkd.in/gE-XMWCp