Indian food

Grace Regan SpiceBox

Grace Regan ©Spicebox

Investments & Finance

Veg Capital Announces Investment in SpiceBox Plant-Based Indian Meals

Vegan investment fund Veg Capital today announces an investment into the retail subsidiary of vegan Indian restaurant chain SpiceBox, with the funds planned to support the development of a new ready-to-eat curry range set to launch later this year and increase retail footprint.  Founded in 2016 by Grace Regan, Spicebox produces fully vegan dishes using the same ingredients and recipes as used in the London restaurants. The first retail product, a ready-to-eat dhal range, was launched in Planet Organic in January this year and is now available at CLF, Cotswold Fayre and Wholegood, and imminently at Ocado Zoom. Veg Capital’s Managing Director Matthew Glover said, “I met Grace at a Vevolution Pitch & Plant event a couple of years ago and was struck by her …

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VADA POW street food

© VADA POW
Products & Launches

VADA POW Launches Award-Winning Indian Street Food in Farm Foods Stores UK-Wide

Bombay-style street food brand VADA POW has launched its Spiced Potato Cakes and Croquette Tikka Masala at Farm Foods stores across the UK. Both products have already received positive feedback, with the Croquette Tikka Masala recently achieving silver medal position in the Prepared Meal category of the UK Free From Food Awards. The brand was founded by Naveen Bachani, originally a native of Bhopal, India. Having now lived in Ireland for many years, Bachani set out to make Indian-style street food using Irish ingredients, with a particular emphasis on potatoes. Three new products — Potato & Lentil Bites, Potato & Veg Bites, and Chickpea & Potato Burger — are set to launch soon. “VADA POW comes from the Indian name for burger and bun and …

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Bundobust's alt-meat menu to continue in February

© Bundobust
Gastronomy & Food Service

Bundobust’s Alt-Meat Menu to Be Extended Into February After Veganuary Success

Bundobust‘s alt-meat menu, initially intended to be a limited edition offering for Veganuary, is to be extended for another month following its “roaring success”. The UK-based Indian restaurant chain, which has locations in Leeds, Liverpool, and Manchester, has always been fully vegetarian — but previously, the menu only offered legume and vegetable-based dishes. The new Bundo Does Meat menu, which features options such as plant-based Butter Chicken and Keema Matar, marks the first time the chain has offered “meaty” Indian dishes. The meat alternatives used are made by Meatless Farm. “These specials are something we’ve been working on for months. We experimented with a selection of meat substitutes, and Meatless Farm products lent themselves best to Indian food. Both Bundobust and Meatless Farm are Leeds-born …

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Satvinder Bains, Home Chef and Founder of Plant Alternative

©Plant Alternative
Interviews

Plant Alternative: “Our Products Make Choosing Plant-Based Alternatives Easier; Because Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference”

Plant Alternative is absolutely unique in its USP: veganised versions of the UK’s favourite Indian ready meals, products that stand far out from other ready meals on the market due to their restaurant quality and authentic flavours, as well as their vegan “Shicken” meat which is quite unlike others on the market. The London-based family brand has seen huge success since catching the attention of Matthew Glover just last year and has already bagged its first retail partnership with CostCo. We caught up with founder Satvinder Bains to find out about the background to the product range and her passion for bringing authentic Indian flavours vegan-friendly dishes.  What is the background behind Plant Alternative/Shicken?  Having grown up as a vegetarian in Nottingham with a North …

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Satvinder Bains, Home Chef and Founder of Plant Alternative

©Plant Alternative
Products & Launches

Plant Alternative Launches [SHICKEN] Indian Kebabs into Costco UK

Plant Alternative, a London-based producer of 100% plant-based, restaurant quality Indian dishes called [SHICKEN], containing a realistic chick*n meat created from textured soya fibre, announces a retail agreement with Costco across the UK. Plant Alternative’s range of authentic Asian dishes caught the attention of Vegan investor Matthew Glover last year, who was “blown away” by their quality, resulting in an investment from his VC firm Veg Capital which helped propel the brand’s success.  Founder Satvinder Bains spent two years developing [SHICKEN] curries with a team of chefs to ensure that while using only plant-based ingredients there would be no compromise on taste. The final recipes, combining marinated and flame grilled [SHICKEN] vegan pieces and hand-crafted Indian sauces, resulted in the closest vegan match to some …

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Plant Infusion

©Plant Infusion
Food & Beverage

Delivery Service Plant Infusion Expands Across UK After Initial Launch Drives National Demand

Plant-based meal delivery service Plant Infusion announces it will now deliver its ready meals throughout the UK, just four months after its initial successful launch in Crawley, Horsham, and Brighton. Founded in July this year, Plant Infusion is a DTC family firm providing plant-based, Indian-fused ready meals. Customers can choose to build their meal plan from a diverse menu or select from signature offerings for 2 – 8 people. Plant Infusion’s General Manager, Sarah James, credits the startup’s rapid growth to its unique approach to vegan ready meals; the meals are preservative-free and delivered chilled – never frozen – in order to preserve taste and nutrients. Regarding the company’s approach to vegan meals, Sarah said: “Our dishes are inspired by recipes that are thousands of …

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Satvinder Bains & Matthew Glover Veg Capital Shicken

Satvinder Bains & Matthew Glover ©Veg Capital
Investments & Finance

Veg Capital Invests in Plant Alternative, Pioneer of Frozen Indian “Shicken” Curries

Veg Capital, the UK vegan investment fund, has invested in plant-based frozen meal service Plant Alternative. Producers of the highly realistic “Shicken”, Plant Alternative creates vegan alternatives to a wide range of Indian food favorites and offers a DTC service.  “We think there is a real opportunity for frozen Indian meals in the curry-loving UK market and beyond” – Matthew Glover, Veg Capital Founded by head chef Satvinder Bains, Plant Alternative will be teaming up with Veg Capital to strategize scale-up through food service, retail, and export. A deal with a major UK retailer is expected to be made soon.  After discovering the Shicken products and being highly impressed by the quality, Veg Capital’s Managing Director Matthew Glover knew the fund had to invest in …

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Blue Tribe founders Sandeep Singh, Niki Arora Singh

Blue Tribe founders Sandeep Singh & Niki Arora Singh, image supplied
Products & Launches

India’s BlueTribe Launches Vegan Dishes in the Cities Famous For Chicken Tikka, Butter Chicken & Mutton Champ

India’s BlueTribe is set to launch plant-based Chicken Keema and Chicken Nuggets in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali, the cities renowned for the famous Indian dishes Chicken Tikka, Butter Chicken and Mutton Champ. After the current launch, the company is due to launch pea protein-based Chicken & Pork Sausages. Co-founders Sandeep Singh and Nikki Arora Singh set out to offer an alternative for meat in India’s food supply chain, with the shared mission of revolutionising how India eats its meat. The company’s team is committed to research and innovation to create plant-based meat products which resemble animal meat, while also positively impacting the planet. Blue Tribe reports that it has already made a difference amongst non-vegetarian consumers wanting to make a lifestyle change in Delhi, Mumbai, …

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