Tata Starbucks has joined hands with plant-based food company Imagine Meats to sell vegan food in India.
Imagine Meat is a homegrown firm with a growing number of restaurant chains, inventing to accommodate the taste buds of the Indian vegan population with plant-based meat.
Starbucks is increasing its vegan menu worldwide as part of its plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 50%. The recently-launched vegan food menu provides more options for customers, in addition to Starbucks’ existing beverage customization options with plant-based dairy alternatives such as almond, oat, and soy.
In partnership with Starbucks, Imagine Meat will sell vegan sausage croissant rolls, vegan hummus kebab wraps and vegan croissant buns in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Gurugram, Goa, Noida, Pune and Jaipur.
Imagine Meats is backed by Bollywood celebrities Ritesh and Genelia Deshmukh, who launched the plant-based meat venture in 2020.
According to Sushant Dash, chief executive officer, Tata Starbucks, the market for vegan products, though still at a nascent stage, is estimated at ₹200-300 crore. The coffee chain, which has over 270 outlets in India, claims that the plant-based alternatives will cater to the consumer’s diverse palate as they experiment with new cuisines.
Plant-based meat has found favour among consumers looking for meat alternatives.
India is seeing a growing number of companies offering vegan food and restaurants experimenting with such offerings. In 2020, Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, which operates the Domino’s pizza chain in India, launched a pizza made from plant-based proteins, which it said was 100% vegetarian with the sensory properties of chicken.
To be sure, in key markets such as China, Canada, and the US, Starbucks has partnered with Beyond Meat to introduce plant-based offerings. In 2020, Starbucks China tied up with Beyond Meat as part of the latter’s entry into the Chinese mainland.