10 Quick Questions with Cale Drouin of Cale & Daughters

10 Quick Questions with Cale Drouin of Cale & Daughters.

When you look over the resume of Cale Drouin you see a man on a mission to change the vegan food game in Australia.

In 2020 he is well on his way to changing the landscape and creating a more inclusive environment within the vegan movement in Australia.

With multiple vegan brands stocked around the country, a successful Brisbane cafe, and in our humble opinion the perfect attitude, Cale is a force to be reckoned with.

Below we chat to him about the future of the movement and why his daughters are his ultimate dinner guests.

Enjoy the chat.

1.  I went vegan because…

I was studying philosophy and political science at university, and I reached a point where I couldn’t come up with a solid reason NOT to go vegan. Having been vegan for over fifteen years now, I’ve found that not only is veganism a powerful lifestyle choice, it’s been an incredible space for business opportunities and growth. It’s shaped a lot of things about my day-to-day life.

2.  The vegan documentary/book everyone needs to see or read is…

Animal Liberation by the Australian philosopher Peter Singer.

3.  Favourite Vegan Eatery is…

Yavanna in Paddington, Brisbane, and I’m not just saying that because I’m biased! Our entire team is awesome, and everyone is really passionate about serving up delicious plant-based food that can bring friends and families together.

4.  The person that inspires my vegan journey the most is…

Seth Tibbott, the founder and creator of Tofurky. He’s the godfather of alternative meat, and I have a huge amount of respect for Seth and his work.

5.  The goal of Cale and Daughters is to…

Create a vegan business that is commercially viable in Australia’s mainstream market. Our goal is to make plant-based food readily accessible for every day Australians, and we know that partnering with major grocery stores such as Woolworths is the path to achieving this.

6.  Our most popular product to date is…

All-new Made With Plants Bacon! Our 100% plant-based Bacon flies off the shelf because it cooks, smells and tastes a lot like the real deal. Bacon is the ultimate comfort food, and customers can’t get enough of it.

7.  In 10 years the company will hopefully be…

We want to be a dominant force for good in the world of plant-based food. We want to stay agile and respond to emerging market factors and trends, and we believe that long-term relationships with partners like Woolworths are the way to ensure plant-based food can be tried and enjoyed by as many people as possible.

8.  Our business philosophy is…

As a vegan company, we’re incredibly passionate, but we’re also professionals. We want to be highly perceptive and we’re always pushing the boundaries around what products we could develop and introduce next.

9.  We love your philosophy on opening up the world to veganism and not making it an ‘exclusive club’ how can the vegan community make improvements in your opinion? What do we need to get better at doing?

Inclusivity is the keyword here! As vegans, it’s really important that we embrace and celebrate change at all levels, because despite the increasing interest in this space, veganism is still a niche category. We have to support flexitarians, Meat Free Mondays, and those other trends or concepts that give everyone a chance to try plant-based food. At some point, we have to accept that purity isn’t always possible, and our message should be one of progress rather than perfection.

10. Finally… What is your ultimate vegan meal and who would you eat it with?

The ultimate meal for me is whatever I can cook with my 8-year-old daughters, Edith and Nina, where they can get involved in the creative cooking process and we can simply spend time together.

Thank you Cale! Sounds like you are making some huge strides towards bringing vegan food to the mainstream!
(And we can say from personal experience, yes the Made With Plants Bacon is amazing! 🙂 )

Guys if you would like to follow Cale’s journey, be sure to check out his company website, dine at Yavanna or follow Made With Plants or Plantasia today!

If you would like to read about more amazing vegans, check out our vegan chat section here.

Until next time!

LGV!