Vegan entrepreneurship is promising in the Amazon

The Brazilian Vegetarian Society discloses that at least 14% of Brazilians are vegans, which corresponds to about 30 million people. Businessmen in the sector find success in Manaus and share their local experiences, adding opinions to economists and specialists.

The specialist in agriculture and regional development, Pricila Almeida, the success of this market depends only on the development to have a tasty and safe product, as profitability is favorable.

“The vegan market is billionaire. The estimate by 2030 is 30 billion dollars moved in the world only with vegan protein, and if we include the ‘flexitarians’ (semi-vegetarian), this value goes much higher. It is an expanding market, but it has to be done with planning, it has to be structured, and it is necessary to develop a cohesive business plan, to carry out the feasibility analysis and identify possible bottlenecks that will need to be overcome in order to gain scalability”, stresses.

Pricila also points out the difficulty in finding a product that is tasty, natural and without additives. In this regard, businesswoman Edi Araújo, owner of the restaurant “Edi Sabores”, owner of two commercial points and is about to open a third, in her change to vegan habits, also felt the need for a restaurant with good quality food and affordable price. Therefore, she decided to create a place that appealed to this audience.

The businesswoman, after seven years, mentions that her business has an average of 80 customers per day for each point in the restaurant.

“My goal was to really bring vegan cuisine so that people could get to know it and see that it has flavor, because most people have a bit of prejudice towards vegetarian and vegan food. When you say, ‘look, here is vegetarian food’, the person is like ‘like this’, you know? I wanted to show that we can eat healthy and tasty without meat. It doesn’t have the same flavor as meat, but it has a different flavor, and it’s delicious”, he explains.

In addition to flavor, the economist talks about developing a safe supply chain to ensure consistency in the inputs used, so that there is no break in the production scale.

farmer

One of the suppliers for the local market is Joed de Melo, a small organic farmer from Iranduba, and one of the pioneers in the North of the CSA (Community that Sustains Agriculture), a method of collective financing for production by groups of family farmers.

According to Joed, his work as a clean producer has improved the income of his family and everyone who works in the field. The farmer does not see the advantages only by profitability.

“I also think about the structure of the soil, the property we work on has improved, this is very important. Organic and agroecological production also brings this side of information to the farmer, which makes us people more adapted to the market”, he comments.

Regarding the reliability of the product to be consumed, the economist, Michele Aracaty, says that innovation and experimentation are relevant characteristics of this segment, opening up the market for new products, but to have a return, the consumer needs to trust the product and the vegan proposal.

“The market goes far beyond food, there are clothes, shoes, pet products and countless other items with a focus on environmental preservation, such as not testing on animals and low impact in their manufacture. These are the right targets for these new customers, conscious consumers. In this case, it is up to the entrepreneur to be transparent with the consumer. Not investing in veganism can lead to losses, since vegan entrepreneurship also targets the collective and small entrepreneurs, ”he says.

Other investments

Refúgio Samaúma is an establishment that offers hotel services with a vegan menu and a sensory experience with nature. For Ana Lígia, owner of the place, it is incoherent to have an ecologically conscious business model and not encourage guests to rethink eating habits that reinforce animal exploitation.

“The development of the project came from the perspective of the need to change consumer habits, from the desire to raise awareness in society and educate people willing to review ecological and sustainable concepts for a better future. That’s why we always seek to invest in natural and cleaner food, less industrialized as possible”, he says.

The economy specialist explains that business success comes from being one of the few that have a certain amount of protection against periods of crisis.

Growth

Sustainable entrepreneurship is extremely profitable, with an estimated annual increase of 40%. Its audience is made up of people willing to consume any type of product that has a reduced impact, has not been tested on animals and that contributes to improving health and well-being.

Brazil is becoming more vegan every day, which is why investment in vegan entrepreneurship can bring a lot of prosperity, it is an above-average return for business”, he adds.

Read more:

World Vegan Day: know the diet and the difference between vegans and vegetarians

Vegan cosmetics market gains prominence in the Amazon

Embrapii releases R$ 10 million for research in the Amazon