Veganism spreads like a wildfire in India

With plant-based products such as tofu, tempeh, peanut curd, cashew cheese, almond butter, flax eggs, sauerkraut, seitan, mock meats, apple honey, vegan chocolates, nutritional yeast and plant-based milks becoming popular, veganism is growing in India. From vegan cafés and restaurants mushrooming pan India to vegan cooking classes, vegan tours, vegan conferences and vegan e-tailers – the trend is spreading in the country like wildfire.

“Plant-based milks such as soy milk, almond milk and oat milk have made promising inroads with Indian consumers. Estimated at $21 million vs the animal-derived dairy industry at $140 billion, plant-based dairy in India is projected to grow at a CAGR of 20.7 per cent to reach $63.9 million by 2024,” estimated Dhruvi Nar­saria and Rajyalakshmi in their report (2020), “Insights on plant-based milk category in India”, published by the Good Food Institute India and Ipsos India. “Consumers rate plant-based milks high on unique propositions like sustainability and for lactose intolerance while they rate animal-derived milk better on taste, price and versatility — proving both categories to be distinctly desirable,” they add.

Soy milk was the most popular plant based milk, followed by almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk and coconut milk. Further, there are also newer entrants into the market, made of cashew, oat, filtered water, sunflower oil, sodium bicarbonate and guar gum. The reasons why people are getting accustomed to this trend include its nutritional value, sustainability as well as the ease with which traditional meals can be veganised.