“We Make Food For Everyone” 

Tell us how the inspiration came about to establish a company that sells vegan products?

Veganz was the brainchild of our founder Jan Bredack, who after changing his diet to vegan, was frustrated with having to read the labels at the supermarket. With Veganz, he created his very own shopping paradise, exactly spot on the mark at the time. Each time we opened a new store, it was a festival atmosphere. The international press paid us a visit every week with camera crews and journalists to report on us.

Would you provide us with a brief overview of the next steps of your development as a company?

We laid one small brick at a time to build our structure. It was the next logical step: To start with the supermarket, to become familiar with every vegan product around the world, to bring the most interesting items to Germany and Europe, to distribute them as a wholesaler, and to then produce the most popular items yourself or have them produced for you. The products that were the hardest to product, the ones that no one wanted to make for us, we developed on our own.

Which items was the first one you attempted to develop on your own?

Our Cashewbert. The entire dairy industry was making fun of us. At the time, they said: “But you’re vegans! Of course we have the equipment, but we do not want to make any of our capacities available to you.” I was at my wit’s end! So on the spur of the moment, I decided to put together a team in Berlin and open the first cheese factory. Over three years, we then gathered experience until we established a production in Spielberg, Austria, where we invested in even more products.

What is of the most significant importance when producing Veganz products?

Our products have to taste good, they have to be fun. That is what is most important. We make food for everyone and that is why for years we have been copying the most conventional classic products. This year, we plan on introducing a vegan Milky Way bar. Ideally, our products are bio-certified, have better ingredients and offer an improved environmental footprint. From the list of ingredients to the packaging concept, we make sure that we use resources responsibly.

You worked with the Swiss Eaternity Institute to develop a sustainability score. What exactly does that entail?

The institute calculates the carbon footprint, water consumption and then evaluates, among other things, animal welfares and rainforest conservation. It compares more than 110,000 items and ranks the products. This helps us to be able to say where we stand with our product. Logistics, cultivation, and production conditions are all included in the calculation of the carbon footprint. The water footprint too helps us make decisions. For example, almonds, a super water guzzler. Do we get them from Spain? Or from Canada?

This year you are starting production of Mililk, a patented 2D printing process for the production of an oat beverage. What does the process look like, and what advantages does it offer? 

Mililk is an oat-based barista product. In this process, we take water out of the equation: we print an oat paste, dry it, package it, and are able to send ten liters of milk in an envelope to the consumer. For one pallet of Mililk, retailers would have to get nine pallets of tetra pack milk into the warehouse for that same amount. It’s revolutionary because we solve problems: What we’re doing is solving space problems, we’re solving waste problems, and we’re priced lower than the branded oat baristas out there.

Keyword problems: What do you do to deal with the challenge of disrupted supply chains?

First of all, you have to recognize the situation, and then you have to identify exactly where the problems lie. For instance, we took oil and soy out of the products and used ingredients that are more readily available and that we can source from multiple suppliers. We have always been particularly committed to long partnerships with suppliers. That’s when you know who you’re working with. You go through thick and thin, support each other, and work together to find solutions.