LOS ANGELES—Vegan Fine Brands, a startup grocery and Black-owned business, has opened its first location in Fort Lauderdale’s busy Riverwalk district. The store was created to provide a one-stop shopping experience for vegan and plant-based products, according to a company news release. The company officially became a franchisor in October.

The 5,000 square-foot store is 100% vegan and features a wine bar and an adjacent Vegan Fine Body store stocked with natural beauty and grooming products.

Vegan Fine Brands offers private-labels product, including Vegan Fine Wines and Vitamins 4 Vegans. Private labeling gives VFB control of quality and increases its margins. It also allows shoppers to purchase unique products like those sold at Whole Foods and other specialty grocers, the news release said.

“Because all of our brands are plant-based, non-GMO and ethically sourced ingredients, customers do not need to read labels," said Steven Smith, founder and CEO of VFB and a former Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo executive. "I spent years living in food deserts with little to no accessibility to nutrient dense foods. I see how damaging that can be for underserved communities." 

COVID-19 is accelerating consumer interest in plant-based products as sales in the specialty sector rose more than 231% year-over-year at the start of the pandemic in March.

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