The past week was a historic change for our global society. After the murder of George Floyd was shared across the world, not black people had to come to terms that we have not addressed the issue of racism, let alone gave it some thought throughout the years. However, last week changed it all.
I am part of that group and I have realised how I have taken things for granted and simply accepted racism as part of our society. But what now?
Definitely educate myself. It is key to understand the underlying patterns and be able to dismantle them. See it and recognise it. This week I was thinking how I could continue working on a cow blog and talk about vegan food when people are being murdered for their skin colour. Then I remembered what made me start this project in the first place: injustice towards cows. However, I did not just want to go back to business as usual but learn more about vegan businesses run by people of colour to diversify my knowledge about vegan personalities and hopefully yours too.
My focus is on cows and plant based meat alternatives. This means my research is based on that. I chose to exclude any restaurants, unless they produce their own vegan products and distribute them.
According to the Census Bureau the U.S. is home to roughly 2.5 million black-owned businesses, mainly sole proprietorships or small scale affairs, which accounts as 0.8% of the total US population (US Census, 2019)[1]. In the UK Black, Asian, and minority (Bame) ethnicities only make up about 7.1% in the food and drink industry, which means that black business owners are an even smaller percentage. 40% of this number are based in London (area) (MBS Group, 2019).[2] For countries like Germany, I was not able to find such data.
It was quite difficult to research this topic in particular because unless it is an English speaking country, it is quite difficult to find words to google this topic in the first place. From the research paper quoted above it also stated that currently there is little data available as companies follow gender specific data but not ethnicity related information. Please bear in mind that the following mentions are just a glimpse of what there is and it does not cover vegan restaurants or similar simply because I do not focus on one region in particular. If you read through the section and you feel that I missed a business, please get in touch with me. This is by no means a finished list. If you are interested in learning more about other black-owned businesses, there are a number of apps and directories online, including The Buy From A Black Woman Directory, The Black-Owned Market, Etsy’s Black Owned Shops, Black Enterprise’s Top 100 list, Bank Black and Bon Appetit’s list of Black-owned restaurants.[3]
Read about (some) vegan businesses run by people of colour in the US
fineapple-vegan-black-owned-business-usa-logo-cheese-dip
Fineapple Vegan Logo, vegan nacho cheese dip
plantmade-logo-vegan-business-black-owned-usa-protein-plant-based
Plantmade Logo Vegan Business, Plant based protein for black community
tubbystaste-logo-vegan-cookie-business-black-owned-usa
Tubby’s Taste Logo Vegan Cookies Black Owned Business USA
partake-foods-logo-jayz-investment-black-owned-business-usa-vegan-cookies
Partake Foods Logo Vegan Cookies
kettle-popcorn-vegan-nongmo-Chauniqua-Major-usa-black-owned
Popcorn Eat Project Pop
symphony-chips-black-owned-businesses-us-gourmet-seasoned-chips-logo
Symphony Potato Chips Logo
hella nuts logo vegan meat oakland kami and mieko
Hell Nuts Logo, vegan black owned business US
picture founders vegan smart us company vegan protein
Picture of owners of vegan smart, us black owned company
Vegan Smart
What is it?
Plant based protein powder
Who makes it?
Vegan Smart was founded by Kareem Cook and Claude Tellis in 2012. They partnered with up John Lewis, a recognised vegan advocate and created VeganSmart. They are sometimes referred to as the Robin Hoods of the industry because they do not only distribute their product in premium health food stores but also in local health food, drug stores and supermarkets that sell to low-income communities that are often ignored.
Instagram: live Vegan Smart
Hella Nuts
What is it?
Plant-based meat out of walnuts (patent pending)
Who makes it?
This is a real family business. Chef Kamari and her mother chef Mieko both have invested a lot of time in and for their community. Kami is passionate about creating easier access to organic food in urban communities of color and Chef Mieko is an organisational brain. They run a restaurant and sell their walnut minced meat with it.
Instagram: Hella Nuts
Symphony Chips
What is it?
Gourmet Seasoned Potato Chips
Who makes it?
Another family business. Symphony Chips was founded by daughters Amina & Amari and father Dondre Anderson in 2016 but started out as a spice company in 2010. The chips are seasoned with 28 herbs and spices and come in flavours Original and Smoked. They became popular through vegan public figure, Tabitha Brown and are based in Atlanta.
Instagram: symphonychips
Eat Project Pop
What is it?
Small-Batch Organic Popcorn
Who makes it?
Chauniqua Major was inspired to create simple popcorn with good ingredients such as organic cane sugar, organic virgin coconut oil, and Himalayan pink salt. The Orlando-based popcorn company is organic and gluten-free and features simple, non-GMO ingredients.
Instagram: eatprojectpop
Partake Foods
What is it?
Vegan cookies
Who makes it?
Denise Woodard created the company after wanting to make healthy, allergy-friendly snacks for her daughter, Vivienne. And Rapper Jay-Z backs this Black-owned, vegan cookie brand. Fun Fact: Jay-Z’s investment made Partake founder Denise Woodard the first-ever black woman to raise over $1 million for a food startup company.
Instagram: partakefoods
Tubby’s Taste
What is it?
Vegan dessert company with an assorted cookie sampler box and a 3-month subscription cookie box.
Who makes it?
Danielle Tubbs started the business in 2014 as a hobby gained popularity through local vegan events. Her Jamaican and African-American background gave her the basic for baking, which she developed further in Florida surrounded by fresh fruits and goods.
Instagram: tubbystaste
Plantmade
What is it?
Plant-based protein for people of colour
Who makes it?
Shaun Nzeribe who created this product out of lack of representation as people of color are often not included in health and wellness-related topics and issues. Based in LA they focus on that work by selling plant-based protein flavours to support black communities. They are on a mission to redefine the relationship between people of color and the world of health & wellness.
Instagram: plantmadeco
Liquid Gold Cheese Sauce
What is it?
Vegan Cheese Dip
Who makes it?
Fineapple Vegan or Brittanie in Dallas, Texas. Mom to fours boys who wants to change the world by offering delicious and cruelty free food. Can’t wait till we can try the sauce in Europe, too!
Instagram: fineapplevegan
Some of the sources used, excluding the business websites:
[1] https://www.census.gov/glossary/#term_Populationestimates
[2] https://www.igd.com/Portals/0/Downloads/Research/Skills/Diversity-in-Food-and-Grocery.pdf
[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/elisabethbrier/2020/06/05/75-black-owned-businesses-to-support/#17ec08cd3814