Elevating Plant-Based Entertaining - The Social Herbivore

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Priya Rao, partner at The Social Herbivore, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

At The Social Herbivore, we are passionate about matching vegan-friendly wines with vegan cuisine. While it's easy to look up plant-based recipes and cooking demos online, it's not as easy to find out how to pair wine with the meals you're preparing. Whether it's through one of our own signature events or when we are hired by wineries or private clubs, we love to help folks elevate their plant-based entertaining. We're taking the guesswork out of the equation while educating you on the different styles of vegan-friendly wines available around the globe.

Tell us about yourself

As a 100% vegan foodie, Priya has been living the lifestyle and hosting Toronto's first vegan food & wine events before 'plant-based' became a catchphrase. She veganizes classic dishes like chicken pot pie, sticky toffee pudding, Irish stew, coconut cream pie—all the things she loved to eat before she went plant-based. The best part, of course, is being in the test kitchen, pairing those new recipes with the best wine matches possible!

Jen is the first Master Sommelier to utilize her expertise in the art of matching to an area she is passionate about- pairing delicious wines with plant-based food. She's on the cutting edge, taking the art of pairing wine and food beyond 'red wine with red meat, white wine with white meat' by helping conscious consumers uplevel their plant-based soirées.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

We hosted Toronto's FIRST vegan wine fair in 2019, where we featured over 80 vegan-friendly wines from around the world. In 2021 we released the World's FIRST book on wine pairings for plant-based cuisine. Very proud to be one of the first IG accounts to talk about vegan food & wine; now there are so many!

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The challenge for us has been financing because this is a passion project for us, but we both have other full-time jobs. We haven't had the time to search for loans or grants that would apply to our business, and that's been an ongoing hurdle.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

1. Make sure it's something you are truly passionate about because when the going gets tough, it's easy to walk away.
2. Find your niche!
3. Partner up, collaborate, look for ways to align with other businesses in a mutually-beneficial way.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.thesocialherbivore.co/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/socialherbivore
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialherbivore/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.