Schedule
Two days of speakers, panels and workshops to help you build a vegan business!
Sponsored by...
Full weekend schedule (subject to change)
Saturday 18th November
11.00 am Saturday
How to start a vegan business
David Pannell, Vegan Business Tribe
For many of us, our vegan business is our form of activism. Join Vegan Business Tribe founder David as he shows you how you can take the skill set you already have and start your own vegan business that will bring together your ethics with how you make a living.
12.00 noon Saturday
Finding investors for your vegan business
Andrew Threlfall, Vegan Angel Investor
Anant Joshi, Vegan Angel Investor
Mike Hill, One Planet Pizza & veg-net
Hosted by Steve Swindon, Lightbulb Consulting
Your business needs money to grow, and sometimes that means getting investment. In this panel session you will learn from both sides of the picture: what are vegan investors looking for in a business and how have vegan companies successfully raised hundreds of thousands of pounds in investment?
1.00 pm Saturday
How to scale up and get into retailers
Andy Shovel, THIS™
Chris Kong, Better Nature Tempeh
Joe Hill, One Planet Pizza
Hosted by Alice Shopland, Angel Food
THIS™ is the fastest growing food business in the UK right now, having listing in almost all the major supermarkets and retailers. Founder Andy Shovel is joined by two other fast-growing vegan food brands to find out how they broke into the major retailers and what tips they have for other vegan companies looking to do the same.
2.00 pm Saturday
How to get your business in the news
Karin Ridgers, MAD Promotions & PR
Publicity and visibility is the lifeblood of any vegan business – and getting it easier than you think, if you just know how! Karin Ridgers is a former journalist, radio presenter and PR expert who has helped hundreds of vegan businesses and business owners get in the news. Learn the secrets of how to get your brand on TV, in the newspaper and magazines, onto local and national radio and featured by your favourite vegan news website.
3.00 pm Saturday
Plant Futures: The next big trends in vegan & plant-based
Indy Kaur, Plant Futures
Indy spent more than two years at Tesco supermarket developing their plant-based strategy and trends. Now she continues that work by helping retailers, brands and investors create their strategy in the plant-based market. In this session, Indy will take a look at what’s happening in the vegan and plant-based sector right now and share the next big trends that your businesses should be paying attention to.
4.00 pm Saturday
Heather Mills
Heather MIlls has lived an extraordinary life, pushing through incredible barriers to become a very successful vegan entrepreneur, charity campaigner, world record holder and Paralympian. Heather is also the founder of multi award winning vegan food company, VBites, which exports to over 24 countries worldwide with over 130 products in its range.
Heather is one of life’s great competitors and pioneers. Uncertainty is certainly something she has had to manage, embrace and conquer in her remarkable life. In this interview with Karin Ridgers from MAD Promotions, Heather will share her secrets and advice for overcoming adversity and building a successful vegan business.
Followed by networking mingle.
5.00 pm Saturday
Networking + cake!
Hosted by Karin Ridgers, MAD Promotions & PR
Help us bring our first day to a close with a one-hour vegan business networking mingle. Vegfest exhibitors, Vegan Business Tribe members, and anyone who has a vegan business, product or just idea is very welcome to join us!
Includes cake-sampling from vegan pastry chef Danielle Maupertuis!
Sunday 19th November
11.00 am Sunday
How to get more customers for your vegan business
David Pannell, Vegan Business Tribe
No business will be successful if you cannot convince people who you do not yet know to spend money with your company. If you don’t understand how someone came to be a customer for your business, then you have little chance of being able to find more of them. In this workshop session, David explains how and why people buy and what you can do to get more of them to buy from you.
12.00 noon Sunday
Green Finance: 'Put your money where your heart is' ®
Jai Street, Mindful Wealth®
Keith Lesser, Vegan Accountants
Dan Sherrard-Smith, MotherTree
Chloe Bullock, Materialise Interiors
Did you know that where you put your savings or invest your money can have a huge impact on the world. Is your pension funding the arms trade and animal agriculture? How much CO2 is your money in the bank generating? And what can you do to change it?
1.00 pm Sunday
How to build a huge online following
David Ramms, Activist & YouTuber
Mel & Steve Ferrett, Vegan Muscle
Jess Saunders, Vegan Punks
YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook has become a powerful tool for spreading your mission, but many people are now making a full-time living by being an online influencer or building a huge online following to create a powerful sales funnel for their business. In this panel session, we learn from vegan influencers who regularly reach hundreds of thousands of people online to find out their tips for those that want to follow in their footsteps.
2.00 pm Sunday
Using your business as your activism
Kelly Vowels, Pixal Rose
Chloe Bullock, Materialise Interiors
Kayleigh Nicolaou, Kakadu Creative
Hosted by Shabari Das, World Vegan Market & London Vegan Business Network
How many times have you wished you could bring together your activism with how you make a living? In this panel discussion, we bring together four vegan business owners who have all used their business to move the vegan cause forwards – from award winning interior design to fashion and beauty. Learn how you can do the same.
3.00 pm Sunday
Little vegans, big potential: exploring the vegan children's sector
Hosted by Laura Chepner, The Vegan Society
Dana Burton, Vegan Kids & the Vegan Kids Festival
Louisa Mitchell, Wildly Tasty
Tina Newman, author, Vivi The Supervegan
The vegan children’s sector is set to explode, but few brands have been quick to take advantage of the ever-increasing number of vegan children. Research shows that children are 50% more likely to be vegan than their parents, and these kids have buying power!
Laura Chepner, Chair of The Vegan Society’s Education Network and host of the new Mainly Humanely podcast, will host a panel of experts in the vegan children’s sector to explore this exciting new market.
4.00 pm Sunday
Drop-in business clinic
David Pannell, Vegan Business Tribe
Karin Ridgers, MAD Promotions & PR
Keith Lesser, Vegan Accountants
Need some help or advice? Looking to launch a new business? Or need help taking your business to the next level? Come chat with vegan entrepreneur and Vegan Business Tribe Founder David Pannell, marketing and PR specialist Karin Ridges and Vegan Accountant Keith Lesser in a relaxed setting about your business.
Our event co-sponsors!
Our co-sponsors are all amazing, ethical vegan business! Click on their logos to check out their websites.
