Nairobi Vegan Fair And Market
As I had mentioned in an earlier post, I had recently attended the first ever Nairobi Vegan Fair And Market. And, it was actually the first vegan fair I have ever attended. What a treat! I went with one of my cousin brothers since we’re both foodies. It was such a great experience I wanted to share it with you guys too so I took lots of videos. Unfortunately, it was crowded so I couldn’t get any great images so please excuse the quality of the ones I use for this post. For better quality and a better view of everything overall I would recommend watching my YouTube video of the experience:
Another reason I wanted to share this experience is because I wanted to support the local businesses that participated in this fair. Many of whom I already buy products from. I think it’s always a good idea to support local businesses. Especially in this case. The thing is, veganism isn’t big in Kenya or Africa in general. And that’s fine. But I think that’s why vegan, vegetarians or even those that like to occasionally have plant based foods need to support these businesses more than ever. It’s easy to go under when your target market is so small. So before I start this post, I ask you to support these businesses if you can. Even if you aren’t from Kenya, their Instagram profiles will be linked so do consider giving it a follow.
Planta
The first booth we stopped at was Planta. I absolutely love their products and have been using them for quite a while. My favourite is their vegan burger patties that remind me of Beyond Burger but these are spiced much better so they have a lot of flavour. Planta offers a large variety of plant based meat alternatives/substitutes. From all the vegan meat substitutes I’ve tried in Kenya, I think Planta is my absolute favourite. If you’re someone who is looking to add more plant based meals to your diet, a new vegan looking for good meat alternatives or just someone attempting to find new products to try, Planta is for you. Whether you’re vegan or not, you will enjoy the flavours of their foods.
Check out Planta here.
Pop Fusion
Pop Fusion is a fun popcorn brand offering lots of cool vegan popcorn flavours. They had some samples and I tried the classic flavour I think. It was so delicious and had this lovely cinnamon flavour. Generally, I really don’t like cinnamon but it tasted good with the popcorn.
Check them out here.
MarDeli
As soon as I smelt the amazing flavours I pretty much floated to the MarDeli table like in the cartoons!
They offer vegan catering and had all these amazing vegan Ethiopian dishes for people to try at the fair. It smelt really heavenly and took me back to my days in Ethiopia.
To check out MarDeli click here.
The Wine Box
Next, we stopped at The Wine Box. A lot of people don’t know this, especially when they first go vegan, but a lot of alcohols are not traditionally vegan. Always do your research and find vegan brands. The Wine Box offers so many vegan wine options as you can probably see from the picture.
For more about The Wine Box click here.
Greenspoon
Greenspoon is an online store that carries a lot of vegan products. We’ve been buying our vegan products from them for ages and the price is actually more affordable for a number of items compared to buying in stores. I would so recommend checking them out.
Check out Greenspoon here.
Soul Vegetarian Bakery And Catering
Next is Soul Vegetarian. It’s one of the first vegan places I tried when I moved back to Kenya. They have some incredible vegan baked goods. My favourite is their cinnamon rolls. I even got my birthday cake from them last year. They had lots of delicious soul food options as well as baked goods like cake and donuts. My cousin bother and I decided to try their donuts and both of them were absolutely delicious. Would so recommend them!
Check out Soul Veg here.
Vegany
Okay, so there is a funny story behind Vegany. I follow them on Instagram and noticed that they had a giveaway. Now, generally I never win those so I never bother but for some reason I was like why not? So, I participated in the giveaway and ended up winning some free tofu! Yay, we love their tofu. They said we could pick it up at the fair since we were both going to be there so I went over to their table to get my gift. They gave me one of each flavour of tofu they offer.
Then, the person at the table was like, “do you know *insert high school friend’s name*?” And I was like, ummm yeah how do you know her?? lol! And he was like, we’re her parents. I was so surprised but what a cool coincidence. We talked for a little bit and they seemed so lovely just like she is. We actually went to Canada at around the same time but she’s decided to stay there and is still there right now. But after that, I reached out to her on IG since we haven’t talked in a while and it was so nice catching up with her. But yeah, such an interesting coincidence to meet them there and that they created my favourite tofu brand!
Check out their awesome products here.
Hot & Sassy
Hot & Sassy are a vegan spice brand. I told my cousin brother that his brother should have come with us since he loves spicy foods lol! He has a good tolerance for it too. They were also offering some vegan food items.
Check out Hot & Sassy here. (sorry haven’t found their link yet will share it when I do!)
Simply Baked
I’ve heard of Simply Baked as their baked vegan products are pretty popular in Kenya but I had never tried any of their products before. We really liked how amazing everything smelt so we decided to try their vegan veggie pizza. It was made on bread dough like traditional pizza. It was delicious but I thought it was a bit pricey. And the dough had become a little chewy but that wasn’t their fault, the weather was rainy and it had been out all day because of the fair. I’m sure the ones they make fresh are even more delicious.
Check out Simply Baked here.
Mtofu
So, if I’m not wrong, Mtofu is owned by the same people that own Ethos (a fully vegan restaurant in Nairobi that co-hosted this fair). Their products are perfect for those looking for that smoky, meat flavour without hurting animals to get it. Mtofu products definitely have that meat flavour and I think they would be a great substitute for those that are newly vegan and miss the meat flavours.
Check out more about Mtofu here.
Acquired Palate
Aquired Palate offers lots of delicious desserts and other baked goods that are vegan, gluten free and nut free. They also use alternatives to white sugar such as jaggery.
For more about them, click here.
Vegan Kenya
Vegan Kenya is an online store that sells a ton of vegan products and specialises in international vegan products. They had quite a few products I was familiar with in Canada as well as many from the US, UK, Korea and more. They are one of the best vegan online stores in Kenya. We ended up buying some products from them. My cousin bough some vegan KitKats and protein bars. I bought some vegan KitKats too for my sister and I.
Check them out here.
Zahu’s
Zahu’s is a vegan chocolate brand in Kenya and I love that their chocolates have very minimal, organic and ethically sourced ingredients. I wasn’t planning on buying one but their white chocolate stood out to me. Traditionally, white chocolate is heavy on animal products and most vegan brands can’t get it just right. So, many of them don’t make white chocolate. This was the first one I saw in Kenya and decided to get it since I really wanted to try it.
For more from Zahu’s click here.
Wambugi
Wambugi sells vegan cookbooks, black garlic and black garlic products as well as does vegan food photography. Do check here out here.
Succulent World Kenya
Succulent World Kenya is all about the pot… not that kind y’all! They make custom made pots with whatever design you would like on them. It’s all very cute.
Check them out here.
Groove & Meadow
Groove & Meadow is another brand I am quite familiar with and is popular in Kenya. They have vegan food items including vegan cheese. We tried a sample of their charcoal cracker with vegan cream cheese and it was so delicious. Would really recommend their products. They’re very good quality.
Check them out here.
Niru’s Delight
Niru’s Delight offers a wide variety of vegan foods and snacks. Everything looked so delicious and we tried a little oat cookie/biscuit which was so yum. Everything is made by her elderly mother and made with lots of love. Would definitely recommend checking them out but I didn’t find any information for them online so not so sure how.
Kavita Zakharia
Kavita Zakharia offers a number of vegan desserts and they looks so delicious we had to try them. We decided to share a berry cheesecake and it was so good. Would highly recommend her products.
Check out Kavita’s products by clicking here.
Bot Services And Solutions LTD
Bot Services And Solutions LTD offers reusable and environmentally friendly containers. I truly hope more places will make the switch from plastic to these. Check out their products here.
GreenThing
GreenThing is yet another brand I am familiar with. I actually use their hair combs which by the way are excellent quality. We also all use their toothbrushes. They make eco friendly bamboo and wooden products. And I love these tote bags they had.
Check them out here.
Mlango Farm
Mlango Farm was one of the wonderful farms at the event offering very fresh and organic vegetables. You can also order their products and they will deliver it right to your doorstep.
You can learn more about them here.
Forest Foods
Forest Foods is another farm in Kenya that offers fresh and organic produce. They also have some offers where you get a certain amount of produce at a lower price if you purchase one of their box.
To learn more about them, click here.
A Great Idea Store
A Great Idea (love that name!) offers lots of hair products to help restore, repair and help your hair thrive.
Learn more about them here.
Eco Scapes
Eco Scapes is yet another farm that was present at the Nairobi vegan fair and market. They offer a number of delicious, organic veggies.
Learn more about them here.
Alphajiri Greengrocer
Alphajiri Greengrocer is another one that I am familiar with so I was happy to see them at the Nairobi vegan fair and market. I usually buy my Korean stuff from them i.e gochujang and kimchi. They also have a lot of other products to offer and the best part is you would be supporting locals. I get their products on Greenspoon but you can also get them directly.
Do check them out here.
Up In Flames
Up In Flames creates something really unique- spicy jams. I know, it’s so random but like in a cool way. This was probably one of the most out of the box products at the Nairobi vegan fair and market. My cousin brother and I actually ended up getting a jar for his brother because as I said he loves spicy stuff. I keep forgetting to ask him if he tried it. But my cousin who was with me tried a sample and really liked it. It was quite spicy apparently.
Learn more about them by clicking here.
NuZiwa
Our last stop at the Nairobi vegan fair and market was NuZiwa. In Swahili, Kenya’s official language although most people speak native/tribal languages too, milk is called maziwa. So, Nuziwa is a fun play on the word. I wanted to explain those for my foreign readers. We have been buying their plant based milk for a while now and I think I even talked about how much I liked their strawberry milk like a year ago. Anyway, my sister needed some soy milk so we stopped and bought some. They were also offering vegan coffees and teas which was so cool. This is definitely my favourite local brand of vegan milk. Would really recommend them.
Learn more about them here.
Masai Market
The Nairobi vegan fair and market was held at a food court which also had a Masai Market so we decided to stop by there while waiting for our Uber. They had lots of cool Masai items and I ended up getting these Africa earrings because I have a necklace that would match them. So cute! Check them out at Ananas Food Court.
The Final Haul
So, this is everything I brought back from the Nairobi vegan fair and market. My cousin brother and I had such a wonderful time there and so glad we went.
I hope you enjoyed this post and reading more about the plant based options in Nairobi. There was a time when we had almost none and now look how far we’ve come. If you’re from Nairobi, do consider supporting these businesses and buying local.
For similar posts click here.
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