Vegan Businesses in India have grown Rapidly in the last 2 years

Veganism is taking the world by a storm. It’s just the beginning of 2018 and everything you read has something to do with veganism. Food chains, restaurants and producers around the world namely Dominos, Cornetto, McDonalds, Ben & Jerry’s amongst others, are coming up with plant-based alternatives. Even Forbes has listed down reasons to turn your business vegan and the number of eminent personalities investing in vegan businesses has been increasing rapidly, Leonardo Dicaprio, Bill Gates, Mike Tyson, Tommy Chiabra to name a few. 

The Vegan Trend in India

Similarly, the Indian subcontinent is witnessing an exponential increase in the number of vegans which in turn has lead to the introduction of plant-based alternatives to meet the growing demand. The rate at which veganism is escalating can be seen clearly from the new restaurants which opened up the previous year. While vegan restaurants like Jumping Beans, Smart Alec, Vegan Burger Kitchen, Vegan Oven, Justbe and Bodhi Greens opened their doors to customers last year, others like Geo Bistro, Sugar Bliss, Garde Manger welcomed vegan options on their menu. You can check all these restaurants out on our 'Big Restaurant Guide.' The vegan food scene was so hot last year that we even saw FIAPO collaborate with Cocoberry to launch vegan yogurts in the capital.  

Image Courtesy: Aceblend

Vegan businesses boomed too, brands like Humane wallets, Veda Earth lounge and the Earth Story store launched. In 2017, we also saw mobile applications like Let It Wag connecting animal lovers, helping them in animal rescue. Social media giants like Instagram introduced #slothselfie feature whereby, whenever you put this hashtag, a popup saying ‘animal abuse and the sale of endangered animals or their parts is not allowed on Instagram’.

Aside from that, so many hair/body-care and cosmetic brands have taken to creating products which not only contain 100% plant-based ingredients, but they also ensure there is absolutely no animal testing done with them. Some of these brands who by default are pro-vegan are Omved, Vedi Herbals and Herbal Strategi to name a few. Aside from that, there are also food brands like Bio-Nutrients and Good Dot for instance, who are investing heavily in wholly plant-based products. 

Creating waves of change

The previous year, also saw vegans around the country uniting together and producing large scale events such as the 18-day Ahimsa Festival, held in Mumbai. It was a huge success thanks to the participation of many vegan influencers, expert and activist around the country that came together to propagate veganism. Other events like the vegan master chef challenge and FIAPO’s boot camps were organized at numerous locations, both had a huge turnout,  all due to the fascination of the subject and the passion to spread veganism. 

Image Courtesy: Ashish Bogam

It was a year when numerous celebrities like Monica Dogra, Will.I.Am, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Ronit Roy went vegan. Whenever celebrities opt for a plant-based lifestyle, it takes the conversation into common households, which increases the curiosity of veganism to the masses. 

Apart from this we also witnessed many activists like AJ Raina taking a vow of silence, Yogesh Mathurai walking throughout the country to spread the message of non-violence and Rohit Ingle cycling to every road and corner of the country to spread veganism. The educational sector also embraced the lifestyle where the German International School in Chennai became the first school in India to go completely vegan

New Year has more to offer!

Moreover, FIAPO recently collaborated with US-based frozen yogurt chain Menchies. If this isn’t enough, Justbe café in Banglore got the TIMES food and nightlife awards for 'best health food and casual dining' category.

Image Courtesy: Justbe

Accolades aside, veganism is about helping our animals get the same rights we do as citizens of this country and our planet. It's therefore thrilling to see issues like Jallikatu, Kerala's stray dog treatment and the ban on illegal slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh take center stage. It's through actions like these, that give all vegans hope that India can be the front runner when it comes to tackling issues of animal rights. Here's hoping 2018 will be an even better year for veganism and for all our animals. 

Statistics from around the world

According to a study, veganism is growing throughout the world. The number of vegans in America has increased by around 600% in the last 3 years. Currently, 6% of the Americans are vegan whereas back in 2014 the share was just 1%, according to a study. Furthermore, the growth of veganism in Australia is clear from the fact that Dominos, a massive pizza chain launched vegan pizzas in January 2018. According to another study by Mintel, the number of vegan products in Australia has increased by 92% between 2014 to 2016.

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