Why the popularity of vegan food skyrocketed in Bengaluru after the pandemic

The Hindu

22-05-2025

We were in the teetering, tottering, terrible twos stage of running our vegan restaurant, Carrots, in 2015, when an experienced person in the F&B industry said, 'Vegan food will fail. Switch to vegetarian!' I might have crumbled under his smugness. But over a decade of being vegan in India had made it clear to me which direction vegan cuisine was heading. We were just ahead of the curve.
Soon more vegan restaurants and home bakeries cropped up across the city.
But the real snowballing began during the lockdown
'2020 and 2021 skyrocketed vegan options in Bengaluru,' says Shruti Mishra, an entrepreneur and marketing consultant who jets between Bengaluru and the Silicon Valley. Due to the pandemic, many food businesses (including my own) succumbed to difficult market conditions. But underneath, a tectonic shift was happening. Concerns about health made people take a sharper look at their eating habits. When you look into where your food comes from, it is hard to ignore the practices in animal agriculture, and also its impact on global warming. In a Venn diagram of ethical food production, better health and environment, veganism sits squarely in the middle.
Two significant things happened with the increase in awareness. First, people became plant-forward in their diet, and those who were ethically inclined turned vegan. We saw an influx of people in our 'Bengaluru Vegans' Telegram group which had about 80 members before the pandemic and is at 191 now. The Facebook group has 5600 members.
Second, being stuck indoors, more vegans dabbled in entrepreneurship. Several plant-based home kitchens sprouted up across the city serving a range of foods from cupcakes to hummus dips. People who had been regular guests at our restaurant reached out to me for mentoring on starting their own vegan food businesses.
My sadness at shutting down my own business was quickly overpowered by the joy of helping new small businesses start and grow in the quickly changing F&B ecosystem. ''Vegan' became a buzz word,' says Shruti. .
Not wanting to be left behind, more restaurants started making an effort. Nikhil Gupta introduced vegan dishes at The Pizza Bakery and Paris Panini three years ago thanks to an increase in demand. These include pizzas, multi-grain wraps and sandwiches. 'It's a small part of our business, but it's a growing one,' he says. While many food businesses have become more inclusive of vegans in recent times, others who began years ago find it much easier now.
Pallavii Gupta, partner at Santé Spa Cuisine, which has two outlets in Bengaluru, worked hard to train her team about vegan food in 2018. By 2023, when she founded The Kind Roastery, she says awareness about vegan cuisine had grown so drastically in the industry, it was easy to include loads of vegan options on their menu such as Corn Ribs, Lemon Poppyseed Cake, and Vegan Sourdough Beirut. .
Vinay Chaitanya of The Digitale Chef started out his patisserie and café as mostly vegan with vegetarian options, but turned his entire menu vegan because alternatives like mylks (plant-based milks) and butters became easily available. His Chocolate Truffle Cake and Artisanal Breads are loved by vegans and non-vegans alike.
It is not just the vegans that order vegan dishes nowadays. Curiosity is growing. Those who enjoy exploring new cuisines or have allergies to animal products, and people who dine out with vegans. Namu Kini, who curates the 'Namu Recommends Vegan Markets' in the city, talks about 'the vegan veto'. When a vegan dines out with friends or family, if a restaurant does not cater to their needs, their entire group will choose to dine somewhere else. 'If a restaurant does not offer good vegan food, it is not just that one vegan they miss out on. Once our entire family of 12 wanted to celebrate at a five-star restaurant. The chef refused to veganise anything, so we did not dine there. They lost business.'
Shailaja Vishwanath, a Bengaluru-based holistic wellness coach, and Karthic Ashokan, a young entrepreneur who enjoys scouting for vegan food, take their non-vegan friends and family to fully vegan restaurants, like Café Graze. They say their loved ones are amazed by how amazing their Special Festival Thalis and Sunday Brunches taste.
Upasana Bijoor and Mahalakshmi Raghunath, who run Cafe Graze, say two-thirds of their guests are vegan and whole foods plant-based. These guests bring non-vegans, who return because they enjoy the food, especially their range of dessert themed Healthy Smoothie Bowls. . Upasana adds, 'Our Cashew Mylk Masala Chai is a bestseller!'
As demand for high quality plant-based cuisine grows globally, Bengaluru refuses to be left behind. More vegan options appear in the city each day. Vegan food is a cuisine in its own right. A quick warning, some restaurants may misunderstand or misuse the 'vegan' label. Be sure to check the ingredients before you order, especially if you have any allergies.
Susmitha S is a vegan chef and lifestyle expert