BENGALURU: Plant-based, dairy-free diets are the go-to fad in recent times. And Bengalureans are increasingly showing an interest in trying new items in the market or learning more about the lifestyle. International movement Veganuary (going vegan in January) is seeing many brands in the city tying up with the organisation to give this diet a one-month try.
Shweta Thakur, co-founder of Wildermart, an online grocery store that offers clean and sustainable products, says, "Most of the questions people have before turning vegan is about what they should eat or where can one find items. Tying up with Veganuary was to help those people find everything they want to know about this lifestyle."
As part of their social media campaign, the brand is also working with nutritionists and chefs who share recipes that one can try at home. "As a grocery store, we have a tie-up with restaurants to provide the products but we wanted to explore more in that department. Perhaps that will take a bit longer now that things aren’t looking so good in terms of the pandemic. However, it's great to see the approach Bengalureans are showing towards vegan food, whether it’s to try the substitutes or figure out which works out well for them," she adds.
Santé Spa Cuisine in Indiranagar has put together a Veganuary party platter that offers items like tomato salsa, basil pesto, beetroot hummus, sun-dried tomato pate, vegan loaf, khakras and more. Co-founder Pallavii Gupta says, "We aren't here to preach veganism as we do offer dairy products at the restaurant. We believe in a plant-based lifestyle and that's the kind of approach we are taking towards this as well. We understand that there are people who want to turn vegan but find it hard to give up on some of their favourite dairy products. We offer those alternates if they want to try."
The response to their Veganuary menu has been good with takeaway orders showing promise. "There's definitely been significant growth that we have seen since the pandemic hit but there's a lot more to go as well. At least more people are talking and understanding more about plant-based diets," says Gupta.
Carrots Restaurant in Koramangala is known to be one of the oldest vegan places in the city. While they always participate in an overall vegan movement, this time, owner Ram Khatiwada feels it hasn’t hit the spot. The team had created a vegan pizza menu which Khatiwada says has seen absolutely no takers.
"We haven’t had a single order for this menu so far and it's been on since the beginning of January. I feel a restaurant that's completely vegan doesn't get the recognition as compared to places that also offer other food items like meat or plant-based products," he says.
"We've been doing something for Veganuary since the beginning but it has never given the results we hoped for. There are more vegans in the city but they still prefer to choose places that have more than just vegan items," Khatiwada adds.