Opening Event - VEGANZ - a vegan supermarket

Hey there!

So today I want to share with you my impressions from the opening event of VEGANZ. Veganz is actually the first European supermarket chain which is vegan only. Actually, are they vegan only supermarket chains in the US??? I would love to know! 
Anyway, there are few Veganz markets all around Germany and I've been waiting for the opening here in Leipzig for more than a year now (they were supposed to open last year but then things went chaotic and it took another year). Friday and Saturday I've been there to try out loooots and looots of yummy foods, to grab a few samples and of course to check out the store. 

Before showing you all the things I really love about Veganz, I also have a point of criticism. Actually, I do not see the point in all these "alternatives" to meat and stuff. You can spend hundreds of euro on alternatives to meet, cheese, even fish and seafood. For me, being vegan does not have much to do with these really expensive processed foods. I like the concept of clean eating which is basically that you do not eat any processed foods and that you make everything yourself. In the Veganz supermarket you can find a looooot of expensive processed foods which are not healthy at all, even though they are vegan. But hey, I guess thats how the business works, you need to please everyone to make money, also those people who love to eat processed and unhealthy foods.

Now, here are the things I loved:

Looooots of dried fruits and nuts - and even unpacked! So you can save plastic and just buy as much as you like :)

Plenty of really good books! All the classics, such as the China Study and Peace Food, but also a lot of funny designed cook books and books about how to start of being vegan :) 

 

Colorful and yummy sandwich spreads. Yes, usually I make my own sandwich spreads but I love to get some inspriration by the ready made ones! 
Oh by the way, most products in the Veganz are organic, like all these spreads. Many are fairtrade too! A few products are not organic, mainly when it comes to alternatives to cheese and meat.

What I found really awesome are these installations. You can actually buy your vegan milk and your fresh orange juice in the quantities you like. You do not have to buy a whole liter of soy milk when you just need half of it and you can reuse the small bottles where you can fill in your product. Like that its easy to taste different kinds of milk without buying too much and its much more eco friendly! I actually tried millet milk for the first time on Friday and I really liked it!

Finally, Veganz has the best selection of cereal bars are raw energy bars I've ever seen! I just love there colorful packages and I really like that there are more and more raw alternatives on the market now.

And then, we've been trying sooo many foods and drinks! I did not take too many pictures of them because the place way really awfully crowded and it was difficult to take picture while some twenty people tried to grab a piece of vegan pizza before it was all gone. But at least I was able to take a picture of these two yummy things: A chia seed pudding with mango purree (SO good!) and an avocado based chocolate pudding! 
We also had lentils salad, buckwheat salad, potatoe salad and lots of different samples of ice cream, chcolate, cocoa, coffee etc. etc.

All in the all, we had two really nice afternoons and I am definetly going back to Veganz. Its not going to be my first choice for my grocery shopping since all I need are veggies, fruits, and some pasta from time to time. But for special treats or special occasions (or to buy for example whole wheat lasagna plates...) its just great to know that there is a shop where you do not have to read through the ingredients every time you want to buy someting - because here you know that everything is 100% vegan :) 

I hope you guys had a wonderful weekend so far and I wish you all a most wonderful Sunday!