The UK’s largest network of food and drink entrepreneurs, Bread & Jam, is debuting the country’s first plant-based summit to inform and upskill vegan challenger brands. Taking place on March 31st, the virtually held Plant-Based Summit will host major vegan brands, British supermarkets, as well as a host of experts and major players in the plant-based sector.
What’s special about the event is that it will give startups the unique opportunity to pitch to plant-based buyers from Sainsbury’s, Asda, Ocado, Waitrose, Whole Foods Market, Planet Organic, The VeganKind and Vegetarian Express.

Jason Gibb, Founder of Bread & Jam Festival told vegconomist, “The innovation that’s behind the plant-based revolution is largely driven by startups at the cutting edge of new trends and behaviours. And our summit will bring these exciting startups together with industry experts from larger corporates, investors and retailers so we can share knowledge and our visions for a more plant-based world.”
Over 30 plant-based industry experts are due to speak, including Josh Tetrick, CEO of JUST and Seth Goldman, Founder of Eat the Change and Chair of Beyond Meat. Speakers from Veganuary, Squeaky Bean and The VeganKind are also giving presentations at the summit. ‘Incidentally vegan’ brands will also explain how they position themselves and why it works, as well as industry thought-leaders giving their predictions for the plant-based future.
Simon Day, Co-Creator of Headline Sponsor Squeaky Bean, added, “Plant-based will be the single biggest and most important change in the food and drink industry in 2021 and beyond. Getting together at this Summit to share our learnings and our visions for the future is the best way to maximise its potential.”

Summit Schedule March 31st, 2021
Plant Based Opportunities: The Supermarkets’ Perspective
9am – 9:45am
Speakers: Joanna Johnson (ASDA), Claire Hughes (Sainsbury’s) and Andrew Allen (Biff’s).
What & Who Is Driving the Plant-Based Juggernaut?
9:50am – 10:25am
Tesni Steele Jones (Kantar)
How Speciality Retailers Are Driving Plant-Based Innovation
10:30am – 11:15am
Sophie Davies (Planet Organic), Zoë Berry (Whole Foods) and Scott McColloch (Vegankind)
Launching A Plant Based Challenger Brand
11:20am – 12:05pm
Hannah Carter (OGGS), Andy Shovel (THIS), Jagir Mankodi (SuperFoodio), Anushi Desai (Plant Pops) and Damoy Robertson (The Vegan Review)
Industry Expert EXPO Half Hour
12:10pm – 12:40pm
Funding Focus: What Are the Growing Number of Plant Based Investors After?
12:40pm – 13:30pm
Niccolo Manzoni (Five Seasons Ventures), Matthew Glover (Veg Capital) and Willem Blom (Plantbase)
Plant Untapped: The Category Gaps Ripe for Innovation by Emerging Brands
13:30pm – 14:20pm
Simon Day (Winterbotham Darby), Seth Goldman (Eat the Change), Ria Rehberg (Veganuary) & Darren O’Sullivan (Kerry Group)
The Next Big Thing: Plant Based Funding
14:20pm – 14:55pm
Industry Expert EXPO Half Hour
15:00pm – 15:30pm
Plant Powered Diversification: Adding a Plant-Based Option to Your Brand
15:30pm – 16:15pm
Ciaran Adam (The Collective), Josh Lee (Northern Bloc), Lisa Harrison (Applewood) & Segun Akinwoleola (The Gym Kitchen)
Closing Keynote
16:20pm – 17:00pm
Josh Tetrick (Eat JUST, Inc)