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Vegan investor Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal is set to open up to 30 plant-based restaurants across the Middle East.
He has already launched a Plant Café in Bahrain and originally wanted to create around 10 outlets in total.
Now he had revealed that his company KBW Ventures is working on a licensing deal and a franchising opportunity so that more of the eateries can be opened across the region.
Vegan restaurant
“My partners and I shifted the model so it will be more of a licensing agreement – we’re already opening up one in Riyadh,” he said. “We’ve got some preliminary talks in Dubai for about two, and in Amman, and Jeddah.
“The 10 restaurants that I’m thinking of opening right now have grown to about 25 or 30. How’s that going to work? KBW Ventures is already in talks with Four Seasons so we can have our brand in Four Seasons properties in the Middle East – that automatically opens up six or seven locations in the region.
“So that’s an indirect way of me getting these products into restaurants.”
Khaled talks to PBN about going vegan. Subscribe to PBN’s YouTube Channel here
Healthy vegan
Speaking to Plant Based News about the plans, Khaled said he wants to show people how sustainable and delicious a whole food plant-based diet can be.
“The most important thing is the quality of the food,” he said. “You can be an unhealthy vegan, but that’s not the market we’re looking for.
“We are not aiming for the vegans – as we will get them regardless. We all stand next to each other and I love that.
“I always want to focus on the non-vegans, so they can transition into becoming plant-based, responsible eaters or flexitarians.”
