Veg-net and Vegan Business Tribe Launch Dragon’s Den-Style Battle of the Brands Competition – vegconomist

Veg-net, a new event connecting plant-based brands with buyers and industry experts, has partnered with business support community Vegan Business Tribe to launch a “Battle of the Brands” competition.

The pitching contest is in the style of TV show Dragon’s Den, and is open to vegan-owned food brands that sell a product suitable for general retail. The winner will receive a free place at Veg-net, worth almost £2,500; this will grant them ten pre-arranged meetings to pitch their product to key retail buyers and industry experts.

Brands can apply by registering on the Vegan Business Tribe website and submitting a one-minute video introducing their product. Three applicants will be chosen to attend a live Zoom final, where the judging panel will include THIS co-founder Andy Shovel, One Planet Pizza co-founder Joe Hill, and Vegan Business Tribe founder David Pannell.

“A bigger mission”

The winner will be invited to attend the first ever Veg-net event, which will take place in Stansted on June 5. Unsuccessful applicants are still invited to register for the event, and the first five to quote ‘Vegan Business Tribe’ at checkout will receive a 40% discount.

The organisers of Veg-net previously reported in October that they were seeing “unprecedented demand” for delegate places. Companies that have already confirmed they will be attending include Biffs, Better Nature, Future Farm, and Impossible Foods.

“It’s great that we have so many companies producing plant-based products, but products that have been created by vegan founders often don’t have the same resources and can find it hard to even get a foot in the door,” said Pannell. “Often, these are the companies that have a bigger mission – they are not only responding to a gap in the market, but they also actively want to make a change in the world with their purpose-driven product. So, we think it’s important that we ensure that ‘ethical activist brands’ also have a seat at this event, opening doors so that their stories can connect in a more powerful way with the end consumer.”