Our History
How did it all start with the Vegan Market in Gothenburg? Let’s go back in time and through previous iterations!
Vegan Christmas Market in Gothenburg
2024-11-23
Our second vegan Christmas Market - this time in the centre
One year after our initial success with the first fully vegan Christmas Market, it was time to really reinforce the concept and make sure the Vegan Market in Gothenburg is a relevant event that is destined to stay.
With more experience and feedback, we were dedicated to bring the market into a central location. Kungstorget, right in the centre was the perfect square for it. It took some effort to get the planning and permits in line, but it was simply important to have the Vegan Market accessible to a wider audience.
To our (positive) surprise, we have received many new vendors reaching out to us to be part of the Christmas Market, and we couldn’t have been happier about it. This shows that the interest is rising and more people get inspired to be part of a fully vegan event. And having more and more variety is also something that we truly cherish.
Logistically, this was a tough one though. Establishing a fully fledged Christmas Market with all decorations and electricity, running it, and taking it all down - within the very same day! Talk about pop-up markets!
With plenty of great support this was made possible, and the success of this market is yet again reinforcement that there is a need for fully vegan events.
Autumn at the Summer Square
2024-09-28
Cosy season is here!
The end of September marks a very different time in Sweden. Colder weather, trees start to get very colourful, and winds pick up. This iteration of the Vegan Market in Gothenburg became therefore an autumn market.
The theme changed towards the cozy season, food vendors experimented with autumn flavours such as pumpkin and mushrooms, and the bar was full of hot drinks such as hot chocolate, a variety of teas and other drinks.
This time we had the Apple Machine pop-up station taking over the kids section. They had very exciting apple-inspired games throughout the day.
Craft vendors decided to double down on the autumn theme as well and all in all it was a beautiful and colourful market. A great way to say farewell to the Summer square at Grönsakstorget, which would become a parking lot again only a few days later.
The last bits of Summer
2024-08-24
Enjoying the last sunshine!
At the end of August, a busy Summer season slowly comes to a close. People come back from vacation, while tourists are still buzzing around.
We decided to experiment a bit, seeing the concept work well over the Summer. During this market, we were honoured to have the artist catbeats perform a one hour music set. A bit different, a bit fonky, but clearly something to give the market just the extra bit of excitement!
With Summer closing, the temperatures started to become significantly lower and we could see the challenges in the upcoming months.
Peak of Summer
2024-07-27
A pretty rainy and cold July
With mostly rain and cold temperatures, July was not at all inviting for outdoor events. With constant anxiety and checks on multiple weather reports, we really didn’t know how it would turn out.
In short: we were lucky. Big time.
We kinda managed to have the July iteration happen on the one day that was fairly sunny, with some heavier winds, but all in all great (though cold) weather.
This time we had our Plant Swap in the middle of the square. By bringing plants from their collections, people not only gave their green friends a new home but also connected with fellow plant lovers and shared gardening wisdom. It showed us how simple, shared interests can bring people together.
Due to the weather, it was a bit of a more tame market, but still, roughly 4000 visitors were present throughout the day.
Vegan Market in Gothenburg
2024-06-29
Now with a proper brand!
After the May market, it was all about doubling down on learned lessons and improving the concept. With the branding finalised, such as our own logo and typeface, it starts to look much more like a proper reoccurring event!
June is a bit of a difficult time in Sweden and with the weekend after Midsummer, many locals are already on vacation - at least mentally. But this also means another group of visitors pops up: travelers from all around!
With a somewhat colder Summer day, we faced some challenges as people were more interested in hot drinks, than cold lemonades, but all in all, we’ve got plenty of beautiful feedback and great ideas how to continue!
Roughly 5000 visitors decided to pop up
The first ‘Vegan Market’
2024-05-25
Summer is here!
After our initial Christmas Market, we saw the need for more vegan events. On top of that, we felt that Summer is also quite clearly a better time for a market.
Together with the City of Gothenburg, we got the opportunity to be part of the Summer events at the newly re-developed Grönsakstorget. Car-free and a place to get together. And the name fits our plan perfectly.
Contrary to our Christmas Market, we wanted to establish a brand and distinguish it much more from our Food Truck, hence the Vegan Market in Gothenburg was born. Still a bit preliminary at this stage, but with our new Illustrator on board, we were sure it would go somewhere great.
The market itself was a huge success. With the central location, we see not only vegans and vegan-interested folks come by, but many many pass-by visitors who are curious about this cool looking market.
That fits our vision very well, as we want to make it easy, accessible and simply fun to enjoy a good market - that happens to be fully vegan.
The sunny weather helped with roughly 5000-6000 visitors throughout the day. Absolutely stunning!
Papi’s Vegan Christmas Market
2023-11-25
The First Fully Vegan Christmas Market
When going to a Christmas Market as a vegan, we always felt a little bit “not invited”, if you get the feeling. Plenty of vendors, cozy atmosphere, but food choices? If you are lucky, maybe one vendor has something vegan. Clearly not a priority, and it got us to think: what if someone would curate vendors to create a more inclusive atmosphere?
We played with some different ideas, like should it be only food? What about presents? What about Glögg? Should it be vegan-friendly or should we go full frame in? We ended up committing fully to a vegan-only experience. It was a risk and we didn’t know whether we would even have visitors, but go big or go home, right?
Planning started in fact only a month before the market, so we needed to make some smart decisions. Place? Outside our production at Ringön. Vendors? We ask the ones we know first if they are willing to do a fully vegan menu. Crafts? Heavy, heavy outreach from Katrin to get noticed. Decorations? Tents? Both were bought and rented.
It was a lot of work, but we got great support to pull it off and it showed something rather relevant:
There is a need for fully vegan markets.
Our Ilustrator
Meet Natalia, the illustrator and designer behind Vegan Market’s branding. Natalia joined us in 2024. From developing the logo to creating vibrant characters and gently animating them, she brings the market’s vision to life.
Based in Lithuania, Natalia specializes in social and commercial illustrations, working both digitally and traditionally in vector and raster formats.
Passionate about animation, she also collaborates on animation projects as an illustrator and always looks for ways to add a playful touch to her images—like animating at least someone’s nose.
What makes Natalia special isn't just her technical skills, but her ability to capture a brand's soul. For Vegan Market, she's created a visual world that's inviting, fresh, and totally drop-dead gorgeous. Each character, each design feels like it's telling a story - her story, the market's story.
