Initiative to help vegan business in UK

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Support Vegan Business hub created to provide information and advice during Coronavirus pandemic

As the UK government encourages people to self-isolate and avoid restaurants and bars, the hospitality industry is suffering. This is a particularly difficult time for small, independent young businesses, especially vegan businesses which already face the pressure of having a niche offering and a lack of contingency funds to support them in difficult times.

The BRIGHT Club has created a dedicated Support Vegan Business Hub on www.thebrightclub.co which features regular updates and information for businesses and staff during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The #supportveganbusiness campaign started in 2017 by BRIGHT Zine to support the vegan industry is now specifically focused on how the industry can face the adversity caused by Coronavirus. The hub was launched on Instagram earlier this morning (Wed 18 March).

Other actions taken to Support Vegan Businesses include:

A group of over 50 London-based vegan business owners and influencers has been created to share information and support across the sector that is facing adversity.

Creation of a UK-wide vegan-business database by author Emilia Leese which outlines what their offering is and how consumers can support vegan-businesses. This is also accessible via the Support Vegan Business Hub.

A petition has been started by Clare Every (@thelittlelondonvegan) for Deliveroo to cut commission during this time.

A lot of vegan businesses are on the brink of collapse therefore it is vital that consumers support them in whichever way possible. Most food businesses are currently operating delivery and collection services as well as providing vouchers and pay it forward schemes to support the more vulnerable in our communities.

Others ways to support vegan businesses include:

Order delivery or collection from them.

Share your favourite food businesses online and encourage people to continue to support them now and in the future. Use the Support Vegan Business graphic from Bright Zine to draw attention to this campaign.

Donate to local food banks and organisations that support communities including:

  • Made in Hackney who are moving to a meal delivery service.
  • Lifeafterhummus who will donating their surplus to those in need if they cannot provide free community cooking classes.
  • People’s Kitchen who have paused surplus meals but are supporting their local food bank and looking for volunteers to help out in other initiatives or to share recipes and food stories.

Follow the Bright Zine/Support Vegan Business Hub on Instagram.

Vegan Quarantine videos

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A lot of us are locked indoors due to the global pandemic, so I thought I would post daily (hopefully) videos on Facebook.

I want us to have some social interaction while we try to do some good in the world.

I’m also sharing the videos here on the blog if you prefer to watch here, so check back daily.

Here are some of the links mentioned in today’s episode:

Ms. Cupcake is closing down. Read my emotional blog post here:
https://tinyurl.com/vfy9wvn

You can order from Ms. Cupcake for home or work delivery for a few more days. Read about it here:
https://tinyurl.com/w29l5j6

London vegan food business bar dei baci have been forced to supply via Deliveroo only. Follow them on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/bardeibaci/

Knave’s Kitchen in Leeds is STILL open and do pick up and delivery options. They will also organise contact free delivery:
https://www.oportobar.co.uk/knaves-kitchen/

Made In Hackney Community Cookery School in London has cancelled all of its classes. They are running a fundraiser to transform into an emergency food delivery service for at risk people:
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/made-in-hackney-4

I am listening to this cool band called Beach Bunny. Read about them and listen to their album Honeymoon:
https://www.beachbunnymusic.com/

Read my piece on how the global pandemic is hurting freelancers and low waged people like me:
https://tinyurl.com/rgod9en

Time to step up for a vegan legend

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Vegans. This is your chance to use your compassionate shopping powers for good.

It is emergency time for legendary London vegan bakery, Ms. Cupcake.

As I mentioned a short while ago on my blog, the UK’s first 100% vegan bakery has decided to shut doors forever. If you missed it, you can read my emotional post online here.

Mellissa Morgan and the Ms. Cupcake business have been on the frontline of veganism for a decade and without her efforts, we would have experienced a very different march forward.

Mellissa pushed boundaries as an independent vegan business owner and showed just how much demand there was for plant based foods. Being inundated with vegan food in 2020 is thanks to pioneers just like Ms. Cupcake.

So they are shutting down, but there has been even more devastating news for the bakery and Mellissa just two weeks out from closing date.

The business was booked to appear at the huge Vegan Life Live show in London this weekend (March 14 and 15, 2020) but with last minute notice, the vegan mega show was cancelled due to concerns about large events contributing to the spread of coronavirus.

While this was obviously an extremely tough decision for the show organisers, this has left Mellissa and her vegan bakery holding thousands and thousands of pounds worth of extra stock that was destined to be sold at the show.

Mellissa told me:

We are desperately trying to close on a positive note, but the idea of all of these products going to waste is heart wrenching for the whole team who has been working so hard. Financially, it is quite disastrous for our small business.

Vegans, this is where we need to do one last act of support and compassion for someone who has done so much for us.

Go the the Ms. Cupcake website NOW and up until March 20, 2020 and order delicious vegan cakes and treats to be delivered to your home or office.

You can choose from four categories of sweetness:

  • Vegan tray bakes
  • Vegan cookie sandwiches
  • Vegan brownies
  • Vegan American-style cookies

Click here NOW to buy one last big bundle of vegan goodies from this legendary vegan business. Help them go out on a high and with a few less bills!

Buy treats for your home, your workplace, a neighbour, a loved one, someone you are trying to expose to veganism, and most importantly for yourself.

If we can join forces to send as much love and cash in the direction of the Ms. Cupcake bakery as possible, we might just be able to help them have a smile on their faces as the doors shut for the final time.

Order from the online store now or before March 20, 2020 for delivery in the UK or for collection in store.

If you can make it along to the shop in Brixton before it closes, please note they have extended their opening times to include Mondays. This means they will be open EVERY SINGLE DAY until March 29, 2020.

Come on, vegans. Let’s do this.

Let’s put a bit of effort into helping send this legendary vegan business out with a bang. Order cake, cookies, and tray bakes now.

Extra note: you can also order a signed copy of the best-selling Ms. Cupcake recipe book. Already got it? Click here to order another. They make great gifts.

New Oumph! products on the way including sausages!

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Oumph! is launching two new fabulous products into Swedish supermarkets from March 16, 2020 with a UK and Ireland launch taking place later in the year.

The Oumph! Banger and Oumph! Smoky Bits are about to hit the shelves and they are highly anticipated. Especially by me!

“Our aim is that The Oumph! Banger and Oumph! Smoky Bits will raise the bar for the plant-based category in Sweden”, says Victoria Norviit, Brand and Category Manager at Oumph! and Food for Progress.

“The Oumph! Banger is a unique plant-based sausage for the next generation of products. The Oumph! Banger has been created combining traditional sausage making, craftsmanship and innovation with state of the art techniques”.

The Oumph! Banger is made from soya beans. It has a smokiness which means it works well as a hotdog, or in pasta dishes and stews. The sausage casing is made from algae and has the crisp bite you’d expect from a good sausage casing.

The Oumph! Banger is suitable for frying, cooking in the oven, barbecuing or grilling on an open fire.

Oumph! Smoky Bits is a wheat based product which is suitable to fry and serve in plant-based carbonara dishes, pies, omelettes and range of other dishes.

“Oumph! Smoky Bits is a versatile product for anyone who’s been looking for a really good plant-based alternative to bacon or ham, and it’s works in a range of classic dishes, such as pasta, or for other breakfast, lunch, dinner and party food occasions”, says Hans Mathiason, Head of Taste and Texture at Oumph! and Food for Progress.

The Oumph! Banger and Smoky Bits are sold frozen, and are available in Swedish supermarket chains ICA and City Gross from the week commencing March 16, 2020.

Stay watching for UK and Ireland distribution news soon.

Follow Oumph! on Instagram.

Club Mexicana opening in Soho London

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On Monday March 23, 2020 Club Mexicana, the home of  Mexican and Californian inspired street food, is opening the doors to its very first restaurant.

Five years on from their street food beginnings, following a successful Hackney residency and the launch of The Spread Eagle (London’s first 100% vegan pub), founder Meriel Armitage and her team are beginning an exciting new chapter amidst the hustle and bustle of Soho.

Inspired by the street side taquerias of Los Angeles and Mexico City, Club Mexicana will dedicate itself to a concise menu of expertly-made tacos and small plates, designed to be enjoyed with a margarita (or two) in hand.

Guests can watch the open kitchen hard at work, as Meriel and her team slice into the star of the show: a sizzling vegan al pastor trompo (or spit) made in-house from seitan, smothered in Meriel’s homemade marinade with tropical favours from the fresh pineapple that sits on top of the spike.

The menu will feature cult favourites such as the beer battered Tofish Taco and the Cheezeburger Taco loaded up with ‘beef’ burger, red pepper queso, dill pickle and annatto mayo. New dishes will see the Al Pastor taco with shawarma style ‘pork’ from the trompo with charred pineapple, salsa verde, onion and coriander, and punched potatoes with chipotle mayo, spring onions and sea salt.

For those looking to feast, Club Mexicana will be slinging nachos, tostadas and its new Queso Flameado – essentially a Mexican fondue of gooey melted vegan cheese topped with spicy ‘chorizo’, ready to be dipped into.

There’s also a line-up of Club Mexicana’s much-loved burritos, including the Jackfruit carnitas burrito loaded with salsa verde, pink onions, pico de gallo, sour cream, salsa negra and chipotle oil.

For something sweet, guests will be invited to take their pick from blood orange granita with a hint of margarita, rich chocolate mousse or a deep-fried ice cream sandwich from Happy Endings.

To counter the heat, the bar will shake up a curated menu of cocktails, wines, and Mexican beers. Guests can grab a stool for chilled margaritas from East London drinks company black-lines and grapefruit Palomas poured on tap, or opt for a true taste of Mexico with something spicier like the beer-led CM Chelada and pickle juice-spiked Michelada. Club Mexicana’s favourite frozen margaritas, a collaboration with Square Root Soda, can be ordered in classic sour lime, pink hibiscus, or juicy agua fresca.

Interiors will be decorated with Club Mexicana’s signature tropical neon pink signs and bold colour-pop artwork. The stool-lined bar is the perfect spot for a cocktail and a quick bite, while tables and chairs that have been sourced from young emerging London-based producers and craftpeople will invite diners to keep those tacos coming. When the days get warmer, guests can also grab one of the outdoor tables to soak up the sunshine with tacos and a few chilled Mexican beers.

Meriel says, “We’re so excited to open our very first restaurant in the heart of Soho. We’re looking forward to doing what Club Mexicana does best – great vibes, lots of tacos and banging cocktails. We’ll be dishing up more tacos than ever before, as well as our biggest street food hits and favourite dishes. It’s going to be a lot of fun!”

“We are delighted to welcome Club Mexicana to Carnaby’s food hub, Kingly Court. The Mexican-Californian inspired vegan street food restaurant will enhance Carnaby’s ever-increasing, global dining offering,” says Shelley Webb, Head of Group Residential & Kingly Court.

Club Mexicana at Kingly Court will open on Monday March 23, 2020.

You can see the exact location of Kingly Court online thanks to Google Maps.

You can follow Club Mexicana on Instagram.

Award winning vegan food in Jacksonville

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Have you seen this incredible vegan comfort food spot in Jacksonville, Florida?

Murray Hillbilly is a much-loved independent vegan restaurant in the Murray Hill neighbourhood of Jacksonville, a city that sits about 5-hours drive time north of Miami.

I don’t know a lot about Jacksonville, except that the major sports team is called the Jaguars and I only know that fact because it was mentioned many times by a character on drama/comedy series The Good Place.

However, I am starting to get a lot more interested in Jacksonville thanks to the food photos coming out from Murray Hillbilly.

This multi-award winning restaurant opened in late 2017 and has since built up a huge number of loyal locals who can’t get enough of their cuisine.

Check out some photos below:

My friend Steven and his husband Nate live in Jacksonville and can’t say enough great things about this place. In particular, they rave about the weekend brunch.

I need to visit soon. For food and friends.

You can see the exact location of Murray Hillbilly online thanks to Google Maps. You can also follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

Independent vegan pizza in Manchester

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I don’t know how you are all coping with me saying the same thing over and over, because I’m even sick of the sound of my own voice.

It is distressing to watch all of our vegan money be sucked up by huge corporations while independently owned local vegan business go under.

Ms Cupcake of London has recently announced they will be closing their doors (read about it here) and now we have this warning shot being fired by vegan pizza specialists Zad’s of Manchester.

Read the fill statement below:

It’s been a tough six months for us, here at Zads. We sent an email out around New Year explaining many of the issues we had been having, but it seems to have been picked up by a lot of junk mail filters (the Happy New Year subject probably could have done with being a little more original perhaps).

As many others have already said, the mainstreaming of veganism is incredible and something we’ve all dreamt of for a long time, but it comes at the expense of many vegan businesses; hardly a week goes by now that we don’t hear of another independent vegan business calling it quits and shutting up shop. We’re not quite ready for that yet, but we do need to make a few changes.

From this week, we will now be closed on Mondays AND Tuesdays, plus we will not be opening until 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

For some time now, our weekday takings have all but disappeared. It is not uncommon for us to not even take enough to cover staff wages, let alone the cost of the food we’re selling and the other costs which come with running a business. We have always been in the fortunate position of not being here to make a fortune. The owner of Zad’s has never taken a penny of income from the business and the business was set up as an extension of the vegan activism which he and the other founding staff members feel is so important.

We hope that compressing our opening hours a little will make the business a little more viable and if it is possible, we will take the opportunity to hire an extra driver at the weekend, to help take off some of the strain during busy periods. We would also dearly love to pay our staff a little more too, which they so thoroughly deserve. This also means that a small price increase is coming in the next couple of months, along with a few small changes to our menu.

Thank you all for your wonderful support, every order, every positive review, or lovely message, really does mean the world to us. We’re trying our very best to make this work, but we can promise you it’s not easy. Many sleepless nights over the last six to twelve months and probably more to come.

We have been inundated with amazing reviews recently, so we know you love what we do – we do, too.

OK. Back to me, FGV. I’ll put it simply again.

If we do not support independent vegan businesses, they will disappear. When we only spend our money in huge conglomerates, our money disappears out of our communities. Local people cannot make a living being vegan if we don’t support them. They can’t pay their bills. They can’t employ other local people.

If you live near Zad’s and you have the spare cash to eat takeaway food occasionally, please make a pledge to do it.

Visit Zad’s online and follow them on Instagram and Twitter.

What The Pitta win major award

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This is fabulous news.

Not only did London vegan restaurant What The Pitta win a major award last night, they have exclusively told me they are set to open their fifth location in Manchester this year!

Too much awesome news.

First things first.

The British Kebab Awards were announced last night in London and the much-adored What The Pitta won Best Takeaway.

I am so thrilled for Roj and Cem. Their food is some of the best on the planet and they have worked seriously hard to make their business a success.

The Mayor of London was also on hand to help them celebrate.

I asked Cem to give me a quick statement on how they are feeling afer their huge win. This is what he said:

To win at the Kebab Awards is a huge statement for veganism and just how far it has come. We were laughed at when we decided to create London’s first exclusively vegan kebab shop more than three years ago and now we’ve taken centre stage with our vegan spin on the British classic kebab. We can’t adequately thank our fans and everyone who voted and supported us from the start.

I’m so happy for this vegan business.

Congratulations are over, but you also came for the new location announcement. Keep reading below.

During our conversation about their win, Cem also let slip a little bit of exciting news.

The fifth location for What The Pitta is set to open in Manchester during May 2020.

Yes, Manchester!

This northern location will be in addition to their Shoreditch, Camden, Croydon, and Brighton spots. I’ll report further details as they become available.

It feels like nothing can stop these vegan food heroes. Let’s eat with them often and keep it that way!

Please follow What The Pitta on Instagram.

Another vegan business for sale in the UK

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Hot on the news that Sheffield’s adored vegan grocery store The Incredible Nutshell is for sale (read here), we now hear about another successful UK business on the market.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmaUoyAnbfH/

The Cornish Vegan is an award winning and massively loved vegan eatery in Truro, Cornwall.

Here is what owners Dawn and Paul said on their website regarding the decision to close:

Our goal when starting The Cornish Vegan in 2016 was to become the best vegan eatery in Cornwall within 5 years. Little did we expect that to happen so quickly, especially the awards and TripAdvisor rankings, obviously achieved with the support of our loyal customers. Even now as the business thrives, customers often mention the potential of adding breakfasts, evenings, Sundays and franchising.

However, as our motto reads: “Nothing is as certain as the unforeseen.” Having been full on for nearly 4 years now, all this effort has left us extremely tired. So now we would like to take a step back to enjoy a quieter life in Cornwall.

Therefore, we have decided to put the business on the market. Hopefully someone will want to take over The Cornish Vegan as a going concern and build on our success. We would even help the new owner during the handover in order to make the transition as seamless as possible for our customers. Perhaps you or someone you know might be interested in running a successful vegan business?

This is a wonderful opportunity to step into a successful and established business in a gorgeous town.

If you are interested, email dawn@thecornishvegan.com for more details. And keep eating with them while Dawn and Paul are still in charge!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzaOdt2HTJ9/

Be sure to follow The Cornish Vegan on Instagram to stay updated on the new owners!

UK vegan shoe company launches clothing range

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Will’s Vegan Store has long been the go to place online for compassionate shoppers looking for friendly footwear.

Will Green has amassed a huge and loyal clientele thanks to his on trend styles and ethical approach to production.

But it’s not just shoes and boots flying off the shelves at Will’s warehouse.

The UK company has launched a selection of eco-friendly and vegan clothing.

This is what Will has to say about their recycled cotton garments:

We have chosen to use recycled cotton because it has less impact on the environment vs new cotton, including organic. Recycled cotton does not need to be grown which means it saves on water, energy, fertiliser, pesticide (for non organic cotton) and co2 emissions from its farming & transport. Our recycled cotton is created with pre dyed off cuts from the textile industry. On average each garment in the collection has saved 33 litres of water and 2.6kw electricity because it has not been dyed. It has also helped reduce the waste disposal of these offcuts which are usually incinerated.

Will’s Vegan Store proudly states that everything they make and do is certified Carbon Neutral.

There is no packaging waste, as they only use biodegradable plastic free packaging from the paper bags to the paper tape they use to seal them.

Click here to visit the Will’s Vegan Store website and check out all the clothing and footwear. There is a lot to see!

You can also follow Will’s on Instagram.