The future of farming depends on vegans: An interview of a founder of a chain of vegetarian cafes

Vegetarians, vegans and people who are leading a healthy lifestyle open new and great horizons for Ukrainian farmers because they consume nutritious plant-based food. The founder of a chain vegan cafes “Vegano Hooligano” shared his ideas about how vegans can help the development of farming, writes “Agro-Center” with a reference to “AgroInsider”.

“Vegano Hooligano” is a chain of vegetarian cafes, located in Kiev, Odessa, and Ivano-Frankivsk. Rudolf Kraevsky is the founder and head of “Vegano Hooligano”. According to him, the demand for vegan products increases twofold annually in Ukraine.

“Nowadays, Ukrainian vegans consume mostly imported products. We try to choose products made in Ukraine but can’t always find what we are looking for – from potatoes to microgreen. The imported-domestic products ratio in a Ukrainian vegan’s food basket is 90:10. This is what opens new horizons for Ukrainian manufacturers,”

said Rudolph.

He believes that Ukrainian farmers have everything to grow and supply microgreen, greens, and vegetables. The produce will be in demand at both domestic and foreign markets.

At out “Vegano Hooligano” cafes we use farm products to cook dishes.

“We have a supplier, a successful business from the Kyiv region. During the warm season, he grows greens, cabbage, spices outside. During the cold season, the farmer moves the cultivation to greenhouses. There are other local manufacturers in the Kyiv region who have big production volumes. They supply elite restaurants with high-quality products. There are a few farmers who cultivate sweet potatoes, a very nutritious root vegetable. Ukrainian farmers also grow many nuts, apples, fruits, and berries,”

said Rudolf.

Rudolph advises farmers to focus on vegans as they consume most of their produce, plant-based, of course.

“All that a vegan does is removes meat, milk products, and eggs from their food basket. They fill the space occupied traditionally by animal products with plant-based products such as greens, fresh vegetables, and fruits.”

In order to increase the number of vegan consumers of farmer’s products, farmers need to work with main suppliers. The other direction is retail sales. If a farmer consistently grows vegan product, there’s little left to do – just deliver them to supermarkets. It’s a real way to make money and increase sales.