3rd Plant Based Food Summit- New Delhi

The 3rd Plant based Food Summit hosted by the Plant Based Foods Industry Association (PBFIA) & Indian Chamber of Commerce had an early kick off at Le Meridien, New Delhi on May 21,(2024). InnovationHongKong | InnovationAsia was able to attend some of this important annual conference virtually as a strategic partner of PBFIA.

Sixteen startups presented to a panel of investors moderated by Rajesh Srivastava. The pitch session was designed for maximum impact with short sharp previews, followed by brief comments from the panel of investors – clearly there was interest to move to further discussion during the morning and left the audience wanting more. An impressive group of startups to showcase young entrepreneurs passionate about developing product in the plant based ecosystem – congratulations to all.

The official opening of the Summit with the traditional candle-lighting ceremony followed where the opening panel of speakers took part. The esteemed panel included chief guests G. Kamla Vardhana Rao, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and Rajesh Agrawal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. Other esteemed guests in the opening panel were Dr Ranjit Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Gaurav Taneja,EY, Stephanie Joseph Pall Corporation France, Josh Tetrick, Eat Just, Inc., Dr SK. Malhotra, Maharana Pratap Horticultural University & Sri Rao, The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

Apart from moderating the first panel, the official Summit opening was presented by inimitable Executive Director PBFIA, Sanjay Sethi who gave a powerful speech focusing on plantbasedmilk ( we will bring you more on that soon!) and challenges that India’s industry faces, advocating for changes to labelling.

Another important development on the sidelines of the Summit was the announcement that ITC Limited and Tata Consumer Products are opting out of the plant based meat industry as they see economic feasibility and interest waning in India. I am sure this news will have global implications. Statista anticipates the current market size of this global market to be $160 million & to expand to $260 million by 2027.

Interestingly, there were comments raised in the panel session about plant based meats needing to “align with India’s culinary and cultural context” and, not follow the west….more to come on this soon.

NDTV Profit did an interview with Sanjay Sethi about Tata and ITC’s exits. He noted that both had mentioned they are pausing the activity and will re-enter when the market picks up. Sanjay commented that he read this as “they are getting the strategy and the offering right and will relaunch because the sales of plant based foods are already booming.”

You can view the interview here:
https://youtu.be/UfKWqZQptzA?si=kD38KgFhuJWaeEAH

…and next year’s Summit is scheduled for May 28, 2025 at Le Meridien in New Delhi – so mark your calendars now !