Vegan India Conference
The 3rd edition of the Vegan India Conference, presented by Vegan First – India’s largest plant-based community and AAMATI was held in Mumbai on the 6-7 July at The Holiday Inn.
The conference was attended by 1000 delegates from more than 10 countries with40+ exhibitors, 75+ speakers, who came together over 2 days across 5 conclaves & 35 panel discussions making the event a true harbinger of the blooming vegan ecosystem of India.
The other highlight of the conference was the mouth-watering, delectable spread of vegan food including crowd favourites like plant-based egg scramble canopies, guleri kebab, plant-based mutton seekh, veg kofta in makhani gravy, vegan moong dal halwa and gelatos to name just a few.
Guest of Honor, Jacqueline Fernandez shared her secrets to achieving fitness goals without meat in an in-depth discussion with co-panellists KuntalJoisher, the world’s 1st vegan to summit Mt. Everest, Arvind Krishna, actor and pro basketball player, and Palak Mehta, Founder and CEO of the Vegan India Conference.
Jacqueline spoke eloquently about the positive impact of her recent plant-based diet not only on her fitness and energy levels but also on the quality of her skin.
“I decided to go meatless 3 years ago, it has given me a lot of mental clarity and it has given me a lot of peace…it’s not about aesthetics anymore. It’s about being holistic and having a holistic approach to my lifestyle.” she said. She also narrated her experience with Mt. Everest Base Camp and expressed her wish to summit Mt. Everest.
Even legacy brands and popular businesses are experiencing growth and seeing the merit of the sunrise plant-based sector. “We stand at a critical juncture today. Our food system is broken, our climate is in crisis, and our choices now will define our collective future. We simply cannot afford to delay; the urgency for change is a red alert situation. Statistics paint a clear picture:
7.5 billion humans manage to slaughter over 80 billion land animals every year and over 3 trillion fish & marine animals every year. Animal agriculture is responsible for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 75% of emerging infectious diseases. In fact, it is also a leading cause of deforestation, biodiversity loss and water pollution. Livestock farming uses 70% of global freshwater resources. Adopting plant-based options can reduce this number significantly.
From companies like TATA, ITC, Swiggy, Big Basket, Jubilant Foods to Graviss Group, the movement has caught everyone’s attention. The market is ripe with opportunities, and Vegan India Conference serves as the starting point for anyone looking to grow personally and professionally in the sector.” says Palak Mehta, Founder and CEO of Vegan First and Vegan India Conference.
Mr. Pawan Kumar, Head of D2C brands charter, SwiggyInstamart shared during the Future of Food Conclave that “the Vegan Category on SwiggyInstamart saw a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) increase of 1.78x in last FY and orders within the Vegan category rose by 1.50x.”
TATA Consumer’s R M Vinay Kumar concurred that there is definite scope of growth for plant-based foods in India. Though TATA is currently in the market with plant-based meat products under the brand name Simply Better, there are plans to optimise the range and offerings to address the growing demand for plant-based protein.
Similar advancement was highlighted in the Future of Lifestyle and Health Conclave of the conference. Dr. Nandita Shah, Founder of SHARAN, shared practical ways to reverse hormonal health issues such as PCOS, thyroid through a plant-based diet. Dr. Pramod Tripathi of Freedom from Diabetes added that there are 537 million adults with diabetes globally, 74 million being in India. He shared his learnings on reversing diabetes with a plant-based diet, having accomplished that for thousands of patients. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) also sponsored the Health Conclave passes at the conference for medical students.
The Startup Ignite presented by HSI/India (Humane Society International/India) was a pitch competition at the conference that saw revolutionary plant-based innovations from 6 shortlisted startups pitching to a 12-member investor jury consisting of investors such as Rishabh Mariwala, Managing Partner, Sharp Ventures, Siddharth Kothari, Partner at Ahimsa VC, and Chandni Jafri, ex-CEO, Mumbai Angels Network, to name a few. Progo Foods was awarded a Rs. 5 lakhs grant as the winner of the Startup Pitch.
Besides the insightful panels, the event also held awards to honor the global visionaries and change-makers in this sector. Guest of Honor, Jacqueline Fernandez presented the Fashion Innovation Icon-Vegan Leather Category Award to the Founder of AAMATI, Pratik Dadhania. AAMATI creates a sustainable and compassionate alternative to leather by converting mango waste into luxury leather.
Humanitarian Mohanji was awarded as the Global Voice of Compassion for his extraordinary work as the Founder of Mohanji Foundation, Ammucare Charitable Trust and active organizations in 50 countries across 6 continents. The award was presented by Guest of Honor, Mr. Kavin Shah, Chairman of AAMATI.
Some of the other awardees were Dr. Nandita Shah (Nari Shakti Puraskar awardee, author of bestseller Reversing Diabetes in 21 days) for Lifetime Achievement Award in nutritional excellence, and Nutricircle Limited for Innovation Icon for plant-based protein.
The Awards Night Guest of Honor, Mr. Aaditya Thackeray, gave congratulations to the cause and extended his support.
This event was a landmark moment for the plant-based ecosystem in India as it felicitated vegan alternatives, change-makers, professionals working towards a sustainable and compassionate world.
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