Prahlad Singh Patel Inaugurates India’s 1st Plant Based Foods Summit in New Delhi

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Jal Shakti inaugurated India’s 1st Plant Based Foods Summit supported by Ministry of Food Processing Industries Government of India (MOFPI), Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

The Summit was organized by the Plant Based Foods Industry Association (PBFIA) and Good Food Institute India (GFI India) as organizing partner, today at New Delhi by lighting the lamp. Dr Sudhanshu, Secretary - APEDA released the white position paper “The Dawn of a Plant-Based Age - India to lead the way to world food security and nutrition” in the presence of Sanjay Sethi, Executive Director - PBFIA, Inoshi Sharma, Executive Director, Regulatory Compliance - FSSAI, Rachel Dreskin, CEO - Plant Based Foods Association, USA, Abhinav Singh, Head Food Processing & CIFTI –FICCI, Abhishek Sinha, Co-Founder & CEO GoodDot, and Ashu Phakey, Head (Frozen and Fresh Foods) - ITC.

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Jal Shakti said, “It is indeed momentous that MoFPI, APEDA and PBFIA have come together to organise India’s 1st Plant Based Foods Summit. I am delighted at the grand success of this event with participation from across stakeholders who are extremely beneficial to us; we are here to bring about a new revolution. Today, we are all gathered here to discuss world-changing ideas. As promised, I will extend my full support to build a strong plant-based foods industry in India as it’s of personal interest to me having distanced myself from any kind of food that includes any kind of cruelty for quite some time now.

On the other hand, I also believe everyone is free to make their own choices when it comes to food. Therefore, the focus is not on forcing people to give up their old food choices but on providing them with better plant-based alternatives with no compromise on taste. We have the exact capacity to bring about such a radical shift in the world. By minimizing compliance, we can quickly develop this industry. I am urging the need to develop the scientific parameters and supply chains that will allow us to showcase the Indian cuisine culture that has represented us for centuries.”

Prahlad Singh Patel concluded the session with product tasting showcased by over 40 start-ups in the plant-based food industry such as Kerry, GoodDot, Blue Tribe Foods, Wakao Foods, OneGood to name a few. The summit also saw participation from ITC India Pvt. Ltd, Unilever, Symrise, Symega, Buhler India, Mother Dairy, Epigamia, Kerry and Roquette.

Dr Sudhanshu, Secretary - APEDA said, “We are all aware that the plant food business is on its way to reaching a significant degree of growth and emphasis, as seen in recent years both internationally and in India. Food is a customer's choice; it is up to the consumer to decide what he wants to eat. Though awareness is crucial, since it influences the consumer's decision, and its choice determines the market's demand. Whether it's a domestic or foreign market, the decision determines the market's demand.

Our country is fortunate to generate everything needed in the food processing and agriculture industries, including labor, raw materials, and expertise. We have a food surplus in all commodities, which is the country's strength. Because of our strength, we have been able to develop a presence in the worldwide market, which has resulted in a significant alteration in the home market. Because of the abundance of raw materials and personnel, there is a huge potential for investment prospects.”

Sanjay Sethi, Executive Director - PBFIA said, “We appreciate the guidance and support from Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, and look forward to the opportunity to lead this critical task force to advance the role plant-based foods can play in India and on a global scale. We are extremely overwhelmed with the tremendous response and success of India’s first plant-based food summit organized by PBFIA along with MoFPI, APEDA and GFI. Everyone wants to invest into our plant-based food business in India because they see how quickly it is growing in importance and value in the national and worldwide markets. There is a link between sustainability, nation, health, humanity, and animal welfare in the sector. We've got a lot of support just by suggesting such an industry, which has the advantage of being a huge draw. Plant-based eating has brought us closer to everyone's heart and connects us to a larger audience bringing us huge hopes of immense success in promoting an emotion.

It is fitting for the white position paper “The Dawn of a Plant-Based Age - India to lead the way to world food security and nutrition” launched at the first plant-based foods summit in India, where we took the first step in bringing this report to life by creating a network of organizations, food handlers, startups, scientists, and policymakers. Going forward, we will campaign for policy reforms to eliminate trade restrictions and unfair practices that restrict growth in the industry.”

The pivotal white position paper, sponsored and developed in partnership with PBFA, provides insights and an overview of the global plant-based foods market and potential opportunities, which will enable India to lead the way to global food security and nutrition. This PBFIA flagship publication aims to raise awareness among Indian policymakers about the need to support the nascent and expanding plant-based foods sector in India.

Backed by the support of Prahlad Singh Patel and the international community, PBFIA hopes to create a joint task force. United by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). To achieve crucial goals that will ensure India can capitalize on the exponential potential of the plant-based foods sector.

Key measures of the task force will be to strengthen attention on local manufacturing and export of value-added products. Support initiatives for regenerative agriculture to promote a sustainable food system and ease production via low-cost, efficient farming techniques. Assist startups on how to use government support and facilitate connections with investors. Establish attainable quality standards, and ascertain efforts to establish cold chain facilities and processing units.

As progress to expand the plant-based food sector in India grows, representatives from the PBFA and IPBFWG look forward to working alongside PBFIA, providing strategic support to bring about a sustainable future where plant-based foods are accessible to all.

This was a unique event in many ways –

• Inviting food scientists to collaborate with young startups,

• Cooperation with the Plant Based Foods Association of the USA, with their CEO Rachel Dreskin and Chairperson of the Board Nicole Sopko also participating the summit and

• Plant-based foods startups coming forward to communicate through their product tastings.

The aim of this summit was to offer strategic opportunities to the players in the plant-based foods industry and facilitate a platform for networking that elicits conversations surrounding the market size, emerging technologies, existing concerns facing the industry, and contributions leaders in powerful positions can make. The summit facilitated the tasting of plant-based foods products during the conference time as well as in the afternoon Business-to-Business Meetings.

The keynote speakers for the day-long summit include Dr. Sudhanshu, Secretary APEDA; Inoshi Sharma ji, Executive Director SBCD and Regulatory Compliance FSSAI; Rachel Dreskin, CEO Plant-Based Foods Association, USA; Sanjay Sethi, Executive Director PBFIA; Dr. Chindi Vasudevappa, Vice-Chancellor, NIFTEM; Abhishek Sinha, Co-Founder & CEO GoodDot, Abhinav Singh, Head Food Processing & CIFT - FICCI, and Ashu Phakey, Head (Frozen & Fresh Foods) - ITC.

The topics addressed by keynote speakers included; MoFPI support for plant-based future, Regulatory, capacity-building, collaboration, and empowering strategies to ensure that our food is healthy for people and the environment, Opportunity for the plant-based ingredients from India, Learnings from global market of plant-based foods industry, India at the cusp of exponential growth in processed foods exports, The herculean task of a plant-based food startup

There were a couple of technical sessions: An opportunity to build brands - focus on plant-based food products development and quality standards with industry stalwarts such as V.K. Vidyarthi, General Manager - APEDA, Sunil K. Marwah, CEO- FICSI, Rijota Basu Deputy Director- Food and Agriculture Center CII, Palak Mehta, Founder Vegan First, Sonal, Founder &  CEO, WhiteCub, Nicole Rocque, Senior Innovation Specialist, GFI India, Amit Kher, National Manager at Buhler (I) Pvt. Ltd., Pranav- Ahimsa VC and Rohit Salgaonkar, Application Specialist – Roquette

The list of over 30 start-ups showcased at India’s First Plant-Based Food Summit included: Vegolution, WhiteCub, Urban Platter, Katharos Foods, Demolish Foods, Guilio Garden, Plantaway Foods, Plantmade, Evo Foods, GoodDot, Proeon Foods, Vezley, Only Earth, Epigamia, Kerry Ingredients, Greenest Foods, Alt Foods, Letz Vez, UptonNaturals, Bveg Foods, Blue Tribe Foods, Agrocorp, Go Green Organics, O’Pure Foods, Piperleaf Foods, Symrise, Promeat, Symega Foods, Wakao Foods, Vezlay, Mothers Kitchen, OneGood, Nomou, Moofit, Soyuz,  Soft Spots Food etc. This continued with a Business-to-Business meetings.