On January 12, 2026, Vegan Asia 2026 NoMeat Business Conference, dedicated to the vegan market, was held in Taiwan. Businesses, restaurants, and industry professionals involved in vegan and vegetarian-related fields from across Taiwan gathered for the event. In addition, multiple participants joined from Japan and South Korea.
Group photo from Vegan Asia 2026 NoMeat Business Conference
The conference was organized by NoMeat, which has hosted vegan festivals in Taiwan for many years and now operates restaurant and retail spaces in metro stations. The event took place at Zhen Ai Garden Hotel in Taichung City and ran from the 1:00 pm opening until 8:30 pm, making it a long but highly content-rich program.
At this conference, Haruko Kawano, President of VegeProject Japan, was invited to speak in a panel discussion. At the end of the session, the audience showed particular interest in our vegan certification, about which several questions were asked.
The panel discussion was moderated by Mr. Zheng Xiangcai (Tei Shōsai) of Shokakuka, a company that uses our vegan certification for its own products sold in Japan. Interpretation was provided by Mr. Lin Shao Ming of iVegi Inc., which connects Japan and Taiwan. Alongside Ms. Kawano, the panel featured Mr. Kevin Yen, who has been involved in vegan-related initiatives with Taoyuan City, and Mr. Derrick Jan, who oversees marketing for NoMeat’s festivals and retail locations.
We were honored to receive an award presented to Director Kawano by the organizers. In addition, we had a booth at the venue where attendees could learn more about our organization and its activities.
On January 10, ahead of the conference, NoMeat also held the NoMeat Festival at Yongquan Park. The festival is a major vegan event that draws large crowds from the general public every year. It excludes meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, honey, and other animal-derived ingredients, and it follows “oriental vegan” standards, which also avoid the five pungent vegetables such as green onions, onions, and garlic. More than 70 vendors joined the event, offering a wide range of appealing foods and products.
VegeProject Japan also exhibited at the festival, introducing our initiatives such as vegan certification and VegeMap, and selling special sets that allowed visitors to try Japanese vegan-certified products.
The items sold were a set featuring Melodian’s “Okara Cookies” (Plain and Chocolate) and JA Zen-Noh Tamago’s scrambled-type vegan egg alternative, “Hatake kara Umareta Tamago.” Many visitors stopped by with interest in our organization and in vegan-certified products.
By participating in both a consumer-focused festival and a business-oriented conference, we gained valuable insight into Taiwan’s vegan market and its development. We were also able to deepen our thinking about how vegan options can be expanded across Asia, including Japan. Above all, we strongly felt the positive energy of so many people coming together with a shared wish to support and shape the growth of the vegan market.
We are truly honored to have been given such a wonderful and valuable opportunity. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone at NoMeat for inviting us and organizing both events, to Shōchikuen and iVegi for their support and encouragement, and to Vegan Gourmet Festival, Plant-Based Market Association, and Marugoto Vegan Dining Asakusa for joining us from Japan.
