Trade Show Vegan rides again
Just how inclusive is the events sector to people who follow a plant-based diet? M&IT editor Paul Harvey decided to find out - by going vegan at this year's IMEX Frankfurt...
“Make sure you get enough to eat!”
That was what my partner called after me as I left the house to travel to this year’s IMEX Frankfurt. Her concerns stemmed from me just having told her that I would be spending the next three days as a vegan. More specifically, a Trade Show Vegan. A Trade Show Vegan is exactly what it sounds like; someone who is vegan for the duration of a trade show.
I first attempted to be a Trade Show Vegan a few years ago. Readers with keen memories may recall that in February 2020 I announced my Trade Show Veganism in a blog, vowing to stick to a plant-based diet at every trade show I attended that year. This turned out to be a lot easier than I had imagined, mainly because Covid happened and I didn’t attend any trade shows that year.
And so the concept of the Trade Show Vegan was forgotten about, never to see the light of day. Until now.
But why be a Trade Show Vegan in 2023? Or indeed at all?
It’s fairly simple; we like to think of ourselves as an inclusive industry. And we like people to attend our industry events. But how inclusive are those industry events to people who follow a plant-based diet? I was about to find out.
Also, from a sustainability point of view, all in-person trade shows have a carbon footprint, some bigger than others. But by being vegan for the duration of a trade show, surely that would go some way to reducing my own personal contribution to those carbon emissions?
The rules would be fairly simple – from the moment I left the house to the moment I returned, nothing animal-based was to pass my lips. It crossed my mind to have one last blowout before I left, a full English breakfast to load up on protein before three days in the wilderness. However, this felt a bit dishonest, so I stuck to my usual bowl of muesli.
At the station, I grabbed a cup of coffee (Americano with oat milk) and on the train to the airport I plotted my way through the next few meals. I’d need lunch at the airport, which would probably be quite straightforward, and then I’d be eating at SITE Night that evening… damn. I remembered I’d claimed no dietary requirements when registering for the event. It seemed unfair to judge an event’s vegan inclusivity when I hadn’t told them I was vegan, so I decided I’d need to eat somewhere beforehand for the sake of fair play.
My sense that lunch would be straightforward was well-founded; a chickpea curry wrap from Pret at Gatwick Airport was one of a good few options open to me in the departure lounge.
Once in Frankfurt, I dumped my bags at the hotel and headed out in search of a bite to eat. The café next door to the hotel was surprisingly busy for a Monday afternoon, always a good sign, and looking at the menu it revealed itself to be an Eritrean restaurant with – crucially – a couple of vegan options. Having expected to find it slightly harder than literally walking next door to source a vegan meal, I took a seat and ordered the vegan platter.
A few minutes later a bountiful plate of food arrived, a number of soft, rolled up spongey pancakes with which to mop up five or six different, vibrantly-coloured curries. A quick Google revealed I was probably eating tsebhi (stew), served with injera (flatbread) and hilbet (lentil paste) among other things. It was a total revelation; never mind just doing three days as a vegan, if the food was always this good I’d make it a permanent switch. Feeling virtuous, well-nourished and very lucky that I’d stumbled into this place, I gave fulsome thanks to the owner and headed off to SITE night.
An evening of networking ensued, and midway through I thought I’d better check out the vegan options at the buffet in the name of investigative journalism. I needn’t have worried; there were decent, appealing options with all dietary information clearly marked – top marks to SITE! Still pretty full from my Eritrean feast, I had a bit of salad before heading hotelwards pleasantly surprised by my first full day of plant-based solutions.
The next morning started well too, the first full day of the show and I was full of energy, raring to go, so I decided to walk over to the Messe, thinking I’d get some breakfast on the way. Sure enough, I stumbled across a trendy looking breakfast café, all word art and pot plants, where the majority of things on the menu were vegan and extremely Instagrammable. My breakfast a picture perfect assemblage of chopped fruit, granola and drizzles, atop what seemed to be sloppy chocolate ice cream. Healthy? Apparently. Delicious? Certainly. I mentally chalked up yet another victory for the Trade Show Vegan.
At the show itself, things were similarly straightforward. The food trucks in the IMEX People and Planet Village had a number of options for me, I got a so-called Flower Bowl, full of cauliflower, chickpeas, salad and quinoa and caught up with some fellow eventprofs, explaining the Trade Show Vegan’s aims.
It was interesting to see how people reacted to me being vegan. Among the couple of dozen people I told I got everything from “Oh, that’s interesting” and “Great idea!” to “For god’s sake!” and “Why are you bothering doing that?”. A couple of people reacted by making cracks about vegans being smug and annoying, which from an inclusivity standpoint wasn’t great.
Quite a few assumed I wouldn’t be drinking alcohol, clearly associating veganism with healthy lifestyles and choices. I assured them that as long as it didn’t have any animal products in, I could drink as much as I liked.
As the first day came to a close and the drinks receptions started to break out, I realised I was getting a bit peckish, so hit up a café bar on the show floor. Unfortunately the snack menu was resolutely un-vegan, so I came away empty handed. This constituted my only real failure so far – everywhere else I had frequented up to this point had provided some kind of vegan option. Dejected, I traipsed off to the onsite supermarket, where I got a little tub of too-salty nuts.
A recent news story asked whether the vegan bubble has burst in the UK, with sales stagnating and brands withdrawing plant-based products. However,estimates for the number of vegans in the UK by the Vegan Society put it at around 700,000 people, which translates to 1-2 per cent of the UK population. Which is a not inconsiderable number of people, whichever way you slice it – and certainly enough for event planners to need to show due diligence.
That evening, the Northstar team made plans to go out together for a meal at a steakhouse close to the Messe that has become a regular haunt over the years. On learning of my new dietary requirements, there was an offer to go elsewhere, but I assured them that no – this vegan wanted to go to the steakhouse. This was the ultimate test – if a vegan can get a meal in a steakhouse, surely there are no barriers left to break down?
Looking at the menu, I quickly realised this might be a bridge too far. Beef took up the vast majority of the bill of fare. We got some bruschetta to start, which seemed vegan, even if it didn't explicitly say it was.
What to do for a main, though? I started thinking the Trade Show Vegan’s run of good luck had come to an end. Then I noticed that there was a veggie burger that appeared to be plant-based, aside from the cheese. I asked our waiter, a surly character who one of my colleagues insisted was ex-military, if I could have the veggie burger without cheese. He replied in the affirmative, albeit with an unspoken “But I don’t know why you’d want to do that” hanging in the air as he took my order.
If I’d been a good and proper vegan I’d have pressed him on whether there were any animal products in the burger itself, or salad dressings, but I was gripped by the fear that I might end up not having any meal at all, so I kept schtum.
The burger itself was better than you'd expect from a (possibly) vegan option in a steakhouse, plus I was pleased to fill up on some welcome stodge in the form of chips.
Steakhouse successfully navigated, it was plain sailing from there on in. For the rest of the show I gladly feasted on curries and salads and fresh fruit and veg. I also definitely felt more full of energy and alert on the show floor than usual.
As I dined on a falafel and lentil salad at the airport on the way home, I felt pretty pleased with myself. I had taken on IMEX Frankfurt as a vegan – and won! Quite straightforwardly in the end, all told.
All of which got me to thinking; being a Trade Show Vegan is easy, enjoyable and better for the environment. If I can do it, anyone can. And by anyone, I mean you. Yes, you.
So next time you head off to a show, why not take the Trade Show Vegan challenge? All you have to do is stay purely plant-based from beginning to end - I promise it's fun and makes you feel fantastic.
Tag me in on your efforts, share your stories and let's start the Trade Show Vegan movement. You know it makes sense. Next up, The Meetings Show. I'll see you there...
#tradeshowvegan
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