New York City will host the first Plant World Conference.
Updated May 6, 2019 | The first Plant Based World Conference & Expo will take place over two days on June 7-8, 2019 at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The conference and expo will feature vegan vendors as well as break-out educational sessions with separate tracks for healthcare professionals, businesses, and consumers.
Tennessee Titans linebacker Derrick Morgan and his wife chef Charity Morgan will keynote the inaugural event.
“We are thrilled to give our entire audience the opportunity to hear from Derrick and Charity and learn how plant-based diets can improve the health and performance of athletes on and off the field,” said Ben Davis, Content & Communications Director, Plant Based World. “The mission behind Plant Based World is to bring the plant-based lifestyle to a mainstream audience, and what’s more mainstream than professional football? Derrick and Charity are helping pioneer this movement by encouraging world-class athletes and the youth they inspire to make the plant-based shift.”
Seth Goldman, co-founder of Honest Tea and Executive Chair at Beyond Meat, will also keynote at the event. Goldman will present “Turning a Mission Driven Business into a Mainstream Revolution,” kicking off the Saturday program.
The event will feature dozens of leading vegan vendors including Beyoncé’s trainer-led 22 Days Nutrition, the vegan seafood startup Good Catch Foods, vegan meal delivery kit Purple Carrot, and the industry’s trade group, the Plant Based Foods Association. Vegan brands including Lightlife, NadaMoo, Upton’s Naturals, The Tofurky Company, Califia Farms, Daiya, and Follow Your Heart will be exhibiting and sharing samples.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to attend the “Eat for the Future” business forum. The panel and discussions are intended to support retailers and food service providers as well as brands and other industry leaders.
The Forum is a partnership with Eat For The Planet, a media platform focused on showcasing ideas, technologies, and people that are shaping the future of food.
“The pace of growth and innovation in the world of plant-based foods, as well as developments in cellular agriculture technologies, has been nothing short of astounding in recent years. And the best part is things are just getting started,” said Nil Zacharias, Founder of Eat For The Planet. “With a myriad of players exploring opportunities in the space, from startups to big food conglomerates, there has never been a greater need for a business conference dedicated to emerging sub-sectors of the food industry. That’s why I’m very excited to partner with PBW to launch the Eat For The Future Business Forum. This annual event aims to kick-start conversations and collaborations that will grow into game-changing solutions for our future food system.”
Forum speakers include Michele Simon, Executive Director, Plant Based Foods Association; Bruce Friedrich, Executive Director, The Good Food Institute; Euripides Pelekanos, CEO, Bareburger; Edward Brown, President, Restaurant Associates; Andrew Rigie, Executive Director, NYC Hospitality Alliance; Patrik Hellstrand, CEO, ByChloe; T.K. Pillan, Partner and Co-founder, PowerPlant Ventures, Miyoko Schinner, CEO and Founder, Miyoko’s Kitchen; Brad Barnes, Director of Consulting, Culinary Institute of America; Lisa Feria, CEO, StrayDog Capital; Annie Ryu, CEO and Founder, The Jackfruit Company; David Benzaquen, CEO and Co-founder, Ocean Hugger Foods; and Lou Cooperhouse, President & CEO, Blue Nalu.
“We are fortunate to be working with Nil Zacharias and his team at Eat for the Planet to program two days of world-class education for retail and foodservice professionals as well as product developers,” said Davis. “As more and more consumers shift towards plant-based foods, the experts leading these sessions will share game changing solutions to help businesses across the food spectrum better understand the new consumer mindset.”
More than a dozen leading industry experts have also joined the event’s advisory council including Farm Sanctuary founder Gene Baur, Purple Carrot founder and CEO Andy Levitt, Forks Over Knives founder and president Brian Wendel, and LIVEKINDLY’s founder and CEO Jodi Monelle.
“Plant Based World Conference & Expo is being launched to serve the singular purpose of bringing this conversation to a mainstream audience”, said Joel Davis, founder and CEO of show organizer JD Events. “All will be welcome to attend, from individuals and medical professionals who are interested in learning more about the plant-based movement to businesses that offer plant-based products and services or are looking to get involved in this fast-growing sector.”
“The Plant Based World Conference & Expo proves there is an ever-increasing demand for products and businesses committed to making the world a healthier and more compassionate place,” said Monelle. “I’m thrilled to lend my support to this exciting new chapter for the vegan movement.”
The event aims to break down walls and myths surrounding vegan food — namely that it doesn’t taste good or it’s nutritionally lacking as compared to other diets. The event comes as interest and sales of plant-based and vegan foods continue to skyrocket. The global almond milk market just surpassed $2 billion and all vegan categories are continuing to grow. The industry now also has its own trade group, the Plant Based Foods Association, which continues to attract new members as a growing number of businesses enter the market with vegan products.
“If we can create an event that will educate and encourage people to make healthier choices on a daily basis, it makes the creation of a sustainable and balanced world for all beings truly attainable,” says Ben Davis. “I am proud and honored to have the opportunity to connect with the leaders of this movement and I am confident that as more people begin to resonate with this mission the transformation will reach a global audience at an exponential rate.”
*This is a sponsored post.
This post was last modified on December 15, 2020 6:48 am