Plant domination

• As the leading aggregator for all things plant-based, 500-backed abillionveg possess a wealth of data on sustainable consumption and vegan-friendly eateries in over 130 countries.
• With that, it released a report surrounding the global vegan market with the aim to understand the trends and patterns that have emerged recently.
• It found that vegan communities in Asia and Africa were growing exponentially likely due to the introduction of global plant-based meat producers such as Beyond Meat and Impossible entering the regions.

• Looking closely, specific countries within the regions are strong adopters of plant-based diets. South America, Columbia and Ecuador showed particularly strong expansions in consumer interest in 2020 Q2. Among the Asian markets, India, Hong Kong, and Indonesia are leading the way, while vegan interest remained healthy in Singapore.

• The increasing demand is not being met with matching supply, though, according to abillionveg.
• “Despite the increase in the availability of vegan dishes per restaurant, there is strong evidence that the demand for vegan dishes far outstrips the supply. For example, globally, the number of vegan dishes per consumer in 2020 Q2 was 0.86. This implies that for every 10 abillionveg members, there are fewer than 10 vegan dishes available within the country,” a portion of the report reads.

• However, among the Asian countries, data showed that Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia have emerged at key markets where vegan options at restaurants are increasing at near double-digit rates. Uruguay, Italy, Austria, and Ecuador led the pack globally, topping the list of countries showing the fastest quarter-on-quarter growth in food outlets with vegan options.
• Read more on abillionveg’s report here.

It’s easy

• Want to vlog but have no clue how to put the clips together in an engaging format?
• 500-backed VlogEasy, as the name suggests, wants to make vlogging easy by doing all the editing for you.
• Here’s how it works: Record a vlog through your preferred app. Once you’re done, import the footage to VlogEasy.
• The app then works its magic by eliminating any pauses and errors and strings the clips into one complete video.
• You can also do some finetuning to rearrange the clips your way or even redo the entire vlog.
• VlogEasy comes with a plethora of extra assets, including a huge 5,000+ library of royalty-free photos, videos and stickers from sources like Pixabay, PEXELS, Unsplash, Yarn, and GIPHY.

• VlogEasy is available on iOS whilst an Android version is in the works.
• For more details on how VlogEasy works, visit their official website here.

Stay the course

• One of the oldest expressions in the English language is “slow and steady wins the race.”
• It comes from a collection of stories known as Aesop’s Fables, called “The Tortoise and the Hare”.
• It’s a tale detailing an overconfident hare who lost the race to an unassuming tortoise.
• While there’s no denying the well-known lesson here, there’s also an underlying principle behind it: Focus.

• Wai Hong Fong, co-founder and chieftain of 500-backed StoreHub, writes in his blog that focus is what sets us apart from the competition, allowing us to reach our true potential.
• “It’s not about how fast or slow or steady or unsteady. It’s really about a relentless pursuit of one thing that gets us across the finish line,” Wai Hong writes.
• You can read Wai Hong’s thoughts here.
• Attention, founders! If you would love us to feature your writings and musings in the next Daily Markup, please get in touch.

Missed out the last Daily Markup? Go here to check it out.

You can also find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

500 Startups is a venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. In Southeast Asia, 500 Startups invests through the pioneering 500 Southeast Asia family of funds. The 500 Southeast Asia funds have backed over 240 companies across multiple sectors from internet to consumer to deep technology. It continues to connect founders with capital, expertise and powerful regional and global networks to help them succeed.

This post is intended solely for general informational or educational purposes only. 500 Startups Management Company, L.L.C. and its affiliates (collectively “500 Startups”) makes no representation as to the accuracy or information in this post and while reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the information herein is accurate and up-to-date, no liability can be accepted for any error or omissions. All third party links in this post have not been independently verified by 500 Startups and the inclusion of such links should not be interpreted as an endorsement or confirmation of the content within. Information about portfolio companies’ markets, competitors, performance, and fundraising has been provided by those companies’ founders and has not been independently verified. Under no circumstances should any content in this post be construed as investment, legal, tax or accounting advice by 500 Startups, or an offer to provide any investment advisory service with regard to securities by 500 Startups. No content or information in this post should be construed as an offer to sell or solicitation of interest to purchase any securities advised by 500 Startups. Prospective investors considering an investment into any 500 Startups fund should not consider or construe this content as fund marketing material. The views expressed herein are as at the date of this post and are subject to change without notice. One or more 500 Startups fund may have a financial interest in one or more of the companies discussed.