Despite its popularity in the Middle East, veganism faces misconceptions and challenges
While many consumers in the Middle East are adopting a plant-based diet, experts say that false beliefs and perceptions of unaffordability are still an obstacle. Despite a significant increase in awareness and adoption of vegan and plant-based food products, industry insiders say pricing and terminology misunderstandings remain widespread and continue to stifle the sector. While plant-based food shops and restaurants were once uncommon in the region, they are now common, with dozens of vegan options available in Dubai alone and increasing amounts of information - including in Arabic - now available online and through social media.
Despite widespread information availability, several misconceptions and challenges continue to stifle the industry.
According to Saudi Arabia's Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, the founder and CEO of KBW Ventures and a well-known proponent of a vegan lifestyle, knowledge of plant-based lifestyles in the Middle East was lower than in other parts of the world due to a lack of available information, particularly in Arabic. "Only in the past few years has this information been made available in Arabic," he told Arabian Business. "I had tons of people questioning what I was even talking about in the early days when I would put up a social media post about observing a plant-based lifestyle."