Dr. Oetker Stories

Vegan doesn't taste good? It does!

VEGANUARY is just around the corner and weare participating again this year. The story of our cameo colleague Giorgia Ferretti inspires us to try out plant-based nutrition.

Vegan doesn't taste good? It does!

21.12.2022 Sustainability

More than 629.000 people from 228 countries and regions around the world took part in Veganuary 2022 to try a vegan diet in January. So did our colleague Giorgia Ferretti from cameo in Italy. She talks about her experiences and what has moved her to integrate a vegan diet into her everyday life since then.

Vegan doesn't taste good?

Our cameo colleague Giorgia Ferretti thought so too. Until her Veganuary participation convinced her otherwise.

How can you eat a vegan diet? I bet it doesn't taste good at all.
⁠- When Giorgia Ferretti talks about how she thought about vegan food before the Veganuary, she has to smile: "To be honest, I didn't understand at all what vegan nutrition was all about. But my Veganuary participation quickly turned my initial scepticism into the opposite: since then I eat vegan at least twice a week."

cameo colleague Giorgia Ferretti in staff restaurant

What is Veganuary all about?

Veganuary is more than just a nutrition program and sees itself rather as a campaign or organisation to encourage people worldwide to eat a plant-based diet in January - but also beyond. Vegan nutrition is good for the climate and plant-based vegan foods have, among other things, a significantly lower carbon footprint than meat- or dairy-based products. More information is available on the Veganuary campaign website.

At Dr. Oetker we are also participating in Veganuary and, among other things, provide internal opportunities to try out vegan food in our staff restaurants.

cameo colleague in the staff restaurant choosing vegan food

We also offer our consumers a wide range of vegan products and are constantly developing new plant-based innovations. Classic baking mixes such as muffins or brownies are now also available in vegan variants. We report on how these products are created, for example, in the story "Juicy, simple, vegan! - The path to a plant-based baking mix".

In addition, our product development team provides insights into which vegan substitutes we use for cheese, meat and co.

Mother-daughter project: it's easier together

Since everything is easier in a good team, Giorgia participated in the Veganuary together with her mother.

"I was just curious about what it means to eat vegan. At the time, my mother wanted to change her diet to eat more proteins and vegetables, so we joined forces." They met night after night at Giorgia's parents' house to cook vegan recipes together, eat the dishes and chat. The majority were recipes sent to them through their Veganuary registration.

Their Veganuary participation not only brought the mother-daughter duo close together, it also had another side effect for both of them: "We were both surprised how good the vegan food tasted. In fact, we liked it so much that we have been eating vegan food regularly ever since, at least twice a week," says Giorgia Ferretti.

Internal offer - Vegan dishes in the staff restaurant

Giorgia has found it helpful that the staff restaurant at cameo offers vegan dishes as well. This is also the case at Dr. Oetker in Bielefeld. Throughout January, all vegetarian dishes are prepared vegan, making it easier for employees to participate in the Veganuary.

Apart from the Veganuary, there are vegan food offers every now and then. It's a good opportunity to try out a plant-based diet.

Cameo employee in the staff restaurant with vegan food

Join us for Veganuary 2023!

Speaking of trying it out: Maybe Giorgia Ferretti's story will inspire you to try vegan food next January as a new year’s resolution. It wasn't easy for her from the beginning: "I used to eat a lot of meat, so I had to get used to it first. In the meantime, I consciously reduce my meat consumption and I don't mind anymore."

What is Giorgia's conclusion? "Vegan food has become an important routine for me. I don't live completely vegan, but I regularly try to do something good for my body and the environment with it."

Happy Veganuary 🌱!