A report by India Today states that one per cent or 5 million Indians have turned towards Veganism. Turning towards veganism primarily to avoid exploitation and cruelty towards animals for food, clothing, skincare, etc. This concept of veganism started in the West and is slowly growing in India today, and in the last few years, several Bollywood celebrities have adopted this lifestyle.
Indians are adopting the vegan lifestyle as it offers many health benefits and is an influential way to stand up against animal cruelty. A vegan diet can aid in weight loss, help reduce blood sugar level, increases productivity, and is also known to reduce heart disease risks. Many indeed choose a vegan lifestyle for better health, although there is a common misconception, suggesting it is an unbalanced diet, however, research shows that one can meet all the required nutrients from a vegan diet.
Other benefits of switching to a vegan diet is a reduced carbon footprint. It is no doubt that the production of meat takes a huge toll on our environment, as to breed, raise, and slaughter billions of animals require a massive number of natural resources. And by shifting to a vegan diet, one can greatly reduce food-related carbon footprint.
Latching on to this building awareness, startups and organizations in India and other geographies have also taken up this as an initiative as part of their business. Companies are choosing to boycott products and reduce demand for them. Doing this helps them maintain and run an ethical organization.
Marketing in Asia highlights some new-age start-ups that are creating waves and impacting lives by promoting Veganism:
Huedee
Image source: Huedee.com
The founders of Huedee, truly believe in veganism and created a company that bans animal cruelty
“Veganism is a trend that is slowly catching on in India. It has been popular in Europe and America but slowly, has been seeing acceptance in tier 1 cities in India. Animal cruelty has been a huge topic of contention and people have been shifting to diets and products which do not harm animals. Brands have been trying to make their products vegan and eco-friendly because consumers are becoming more conscious of what they are buying. Indian brands have been catering to the growing vegan customer base which is bound to increase.” shares Mr Yash Agarwal and Ms Ahana Chauhan.
I AM LOVE
Image source: LinkedIn
The Founder and CEO at I AM LOVE, Shilpa Rathi Maheshwari has experience with customers that want vegan and eco-friendly products. She says, “With increasing customer consciousness, customers are leaning towards products that support causes like sustainability. Customers want vegan and eco-friendly brands that do not harm animals during their making. Without our growing customer base, having vegan and sustainable brands can be a huge asset. I Am Love believes in creating holistic skincare products that nourish the body from the inside. Our products are completely vegan and rigorously tested by the FSSAI. As a brand, we are completely against animal cruelty and do not test our products on animals.
With changing times, companies must rise to the demand for consumer demands.
Also read: How This Mumbai-based Nutraceuticals Startup Is Curing Ailments Of Their Roots How ‘I Am Love’ Came Into Being
Zouk
Image source: LinkedIn
Disha Singh started Zouk, a Vegan brand for bags and accessories in 2016 by investing 20 lakhs of her savings.
Disha saw horrific videos of how animal-based leather is made and decided that they don’t want to build that. That is how she created Zouk – a brand that creates vegan bags. Furthermore, they make products fusing Indian craftsmanship with modern functionality. Although loved for their designs, Disha realized that the local handicrafts lacked functionality. Seeing this gap, she decided to start Zouk and launched her first product by the end of 2017. She says, “This really hit me since India has such a rich heritage and craftsmanship and still, we had very few genuine Indian brands that made products with modern functionality. That’s when I decided to start Zouk with a mission of bringing to customers stylish and functional products with an essence of India,”
Since its inception, Zouk has become a highly profitable company in a short while by raking in 5 crore revenue.
Greensole
Image source: Greensole.com
Greensole is a PETA-approved vegan shoe brand in India. With the vision to create employment opportunities for women in rural areas, Greensole has made a bid impact as a first-of-its-kind eco-friendly footwear brand that upcycles discarded shoes into comfortable footwear for underprivileged kids and builds a self-sustainable social venture. In 2018, Greensole started its first skill center in collaboration with Tata steel and Lion’s club, Noamundi.
Commenting on the brand, Shriyans Bhandari and Ramesh Dhami, Co-founders of Greensole, said, “As athletes, we ran hundreds of kilometres every year. We also ran through at least three to four pairs of sports shoes every year. The soles were in good condition, but the shoe sides tore within months. This made us wonder if we could find some use for the intact soles of these quality sports shoes. A bit of research led to the idea of refurbishing them into trendy slippers.”
Also read: This Peta-Approved Vegan Shoe Brand aims to contribute to social and environmental aspects by manufacturing sustainable vegan shoes
Pilgrim
Image source: LinkedIn
Founded by Anurag Kedia & Gagandeep Makker in the year 2019, the duo launched this brand on the realization that although many Indians are aware of global beauty brands, they have limited access to these brands. Pilgrim is a home-grown beauty and Personal care brand offering the best quality products. They’re strictly against animal testing and promise to provide their customers with 100% vegan products to their customers. They’re also FDA Approved and are free from toxins like Parabens, Sulfates, and Mineral Oils, which are otherwise commonly used in beauty products.
On speaking of the brand, Shares Anurag Kedia, Founder of Pilgrim, “We are witnessing an increased inclination towards personal well-being and care. Indian consumers want to experience and access global beauty regimes and ingredients from the comfort of their homes.”
Also read: How this D2C Skin care brand, 100% percent vegan, animal-friendly, and plastic positive is witnessing multifold growth in India
Anveya Living
Image source: LinkedIn
Anveya Living, founded in 2018 by Vivek Singh is a company that offers beauty, personal care, and wellness products. Its products promise purity and wisdom of nature while serving as a competitor to companies using synthetic products. It was born of a desire to give Indian consumers natural beauty products. “Veganism is a trend that condones the consumption of products that do not harm animals in any way. It is a trend that has been raging in the west, with millions converting to veganism. It has slowly started catching up in India too. Brands have been trying to move towards creating vegan and eco-friendly products. At first, people followed vegan diets but now, veganism is a lifestyle because people are more conscious of what they’re buying. At Anveya, we believe in using natural products which will not only make your skin shine and do not harm animals or the environment. All our products are made to holistically enrich your haircare and skincare with natural eco-friendly ingredients.” shares Anveya and Vivek Singh CEO & Co-founder of Anveya Living.
With startups taking Veganism to another level, it isn’t long before many bigger corporations will follow suit!
