Meet Ayush Sanghavi, The 17-Year-Old British-Indian Vegan App Developer!

Meet Ayush Sanghavi - he's 17 years old, based in the UK, and has created an app that helps consumers find vegan alternatives for common food items. From dairy to condiments to bacon and eggs, the app, called Veggie Alternatives, allows users to discover and shop for vegan/vegetarian alternatives in-app. We spoke to the youngster about his journey.

What prompted you to develop the app?

I initially developed the app in the summer of 2016; I had recently learnt the basics of developing apps in school and was working on teaching myself the rest. I decided upon the idea of Veggie Alternatives because not only would it be complex enough to help me widen my knowledge of app development, but it would also provide help to a lot of people going vegetarian/vegan or even people who were just curious about what they eat; I knew that these diets were gaining popularity very quickly across the world, and just wanted to create something to make life a bit easier for these people. From then the app gained popularity faster than I could’ve ever imagined.

How does it work?

Veggie Alternatives is split into three categories: Dairy, Meat, and Other. From these three categories, users can click on a specific food item from about 35 options, including cheese, ice cream, bacon, eggs, etc. and find branded, priced vegan/vegetarian substitutions to these products – as well as being able to order these products directly in-app through the brand’s website. There’s currently over 300 alternatives within the app, and I’m always adding more. Alongside this main feature there’s a Forum where users can discuss and get tips from other people with similar diets, and there’s also a Smart Assistant that users can speak to directly to lead them to the alternative that they need – a bit like Siri.

How did you go about sourcing recipes and substitutions?

I sourced the alternatives and recipes mainly through internet research, creating lists of the products that I’d found, but I’d also add alternatives that I’d tried myself – from here, I’d just do more research when new products came out, and I’d add them to the app. There’s a feature in the app called ‘Your Ideas’, where users can suggest their own favourite products that they’d like to see featured in the app – this will help me greatly in finding new products to add to the app.

Did you face any challenges in the development stage?

I faced a few challenges in the development stage; when I first submitted the app to Apple, I assumed they would simply accept it to the App Store and that would be it – but that didn’t happen. Apple rejected the app 7 times over 8 months, and as much as I’d like to say that Apple hindered my progress, in reality, them rejecting the app only made it better. After each rejection, I’d look at what I could change/add to the app, as well as asking my friends who’d been testing it for me, and I’d add new features. Some of the best features in Veggie Alternatives came after Apple’s rejections.

Are you vegan?

I am currently a vegetarian, and I have been vegan for a period in the past. Personally, with the crisis of global warming, alongside animal cruelty and the other issues of animal agriculture, I think that veganism is a diet that could potentially help save the world.

What next for the app?

I think at the moment I’m just gonna see how people react to the app when it comes out, and I’ll take it from there. I’d like to keep my options quite open for the moment but I’ll definitely keep working on Veggie Alternatives and expanding it as much as I can.

The app is available for download on both Android and iOS. Learn more about it here.