Plant Based Foods Industry Association supports India's first Zero Fest in Bengaluru

• Bengaluru city aspire to be the vegan capital of India

• Plant Based foods Industry Association (PBFIA) has also requested, Minister of state, Food Processing Industry to set up a cold room at Bengaluru Railway Station, for daily parcel service with other

The Plant Based Foods Industry Association (PBFIA) is a CEO-led body formed to support and help develop India's nascent plant-based food ecosystem. PBFIA aims to create a network by connecting organizations, food handlers, start-ups, investors, and consumers. The drive for PBFIA is to help businesses in this sector grow through networking, collaboration, and dissemination of technical and market information and research. Along with that, the organization is focused on highlighting and promoting the benefits of the plant-based industry to improve health, food security, fair practices, and meet sustainable development goals.

Letz Vez presents Zero Fest by Vegan Fest India in association with Blue Tribe; Khadi Deepak Welfare Foundation; Urban Platter; Only Earth, Geist Beer, Tags Chips, Guilio Garden, crave by Leena and wholeheartedly supported by Plant Based Foods Industry Association. The NGO partners for the event are: People for Animal, FIAPO, Vegan Outreach, Plant Based Treaty (Animal Save Movement); Rare Earth; El Zero; Digital Madhyam; BIO Nutrients and PETA. PBFIA is the power partner of the first-ever Vegan fest to be held on the 9th and 10th of April in Bengaluru. The fest will be known as The Zero Fest and which is going to be held at Jayamahal Hotel, Bengaluru, from 12 noon onwards, with an expected footfall of around 15000 people.

While Zero Fest is being hosted in Bengaluru, the city can aspire to be the plant based capital of India like Tel Aviv is the "vegan capital " of the world with almost 400 Plant Based and Plant Based friendly kitchens catering to nearly 200,000 vegans.

Sanjay Sethi, executive director, PBFIA opined, "It is important to understand the urgent need of building a better ecosystem for plant-based food in India. The global velocity for plant-based protein is increasing and can optimize the world's food systems and food security. This event is yet another smart initiative towards making the Indian food supply chain a sustainable setup. We will always support initiatives that promote plant-based foods and will continue to partner other events so that consumers develop a strong appetite for the plant-based alternatives. Being a trade association, we urge more organizations to come forward to expand the consumer base and introduce new products in the market. It is our endeavour to spread the plant-based message on the World Health Day which is celebrated on 7th April with focus on “Our Planet, Our Health” for a healthier tomorrow by WHO.”

Sethi further added, “The plant-based food market can be made more Bengaluru-focused. During PBFIA’s meeting with MoS MoFPI, it was recommended to develop a special cold room at Bengaluru railway station as a pilot so that daily parcel services can be started for plant-based foods products in various cities. This will not only help the plant-based foods sector but also the other processed food sector. It will be a great opportunity for Bengaluru to be the plant-based capital of India just like Tel Aviv is to the world."

PBFIA has suggested several steps that could be taken by the government, including establishing centers of excellence, accelerators to support innovation, tie-ups with universities, tax incentives for investors and entrepreneurs, reduction in GST rates, infrastructural support (food processing, cold chains, etc.) and other capacity-building initiatives including an accelerator to support startups. The Zero Fest is yet another initiative as one of its kind Plant based festival of India, to create better awareness and ecosystem for plant-based protein.

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For exhibitor enquiries, please email - abhidha@veganfestindia or call +917999043250.