Why Collingwood is Australia's beating heart for all things vegan

An international plant-based restaurant scaling three storeys opens on Monday on a prominent corner in Collingwood, cementing the suburb's reputation as Australia's beating heart for all things vegan.

Copper Branch, founded in Canada in 2014, has 50 outlets worldwide and plans to open 100 venues in Australia and New Zealand in the next 10 to 15 years. It opens its doors as vegan restaurants elsewhere in Australia are closing.

Copper Branch's debut in Collingwood was no accident.

"Coming into Australia, we wanted to really test the brand in the lion's den," says Nathan Wills, group operations manager of the master franchisee Grove Group.

Hatted restaurant and plant-based trailblazer Smith & Daughters relocated to Collingwood in late 2021. Friends of the Earth cafe has been a Smith Street fixture for 30 years. Nearby is vegan wine bar Glou, while down Johnston Street is Shu, a plant-based Chinese restaurant. Neighbouring Fitzroy has several of its own meat-free destinations, including Vegie Bar.

Amidst this vegan paradise, Copper Branch will target the fast casual end of the market, serving mushroom burgers, acai bowls, smoked tempeh and salads, with all food steamed or roasted.

Shu Liu, owner of Shu, says he's not concerned by more meat-free restaurants in the area. "I don't have anything similar to the other vegetarian or vegan restaurants in the neighbourhood."

He's carved out a niche with his eclectic restaurant's Venn diagram of Sichuan, vegan and upscale. "When people are sitting here, they feel like they're not just eating vegetables. They're here to enjoy the whole package."

Longevity is Friends of the Earth's secret weapon. Cafe co-ordinator Pauline Renkin says many tourists, including internationals, seek out the food co-op.

Glou is the suburb's most low-key vegan spot, choosing not to label itself as a vegan wine bar but happily serving those who like natural wines made without animal products.

It's this critical mass of vegan eateries that continues to attract new businesses such as Copper Branch to Collingwood. A younger than average population (median age 33 compared to 37 in greater Melbourne) and a mix of residential and commercial buildings keep business ticking over, too.

Copper Branch's ambitious growth plan sums up the feeling that vegan food has officially "arrived", something that steadily growing sales of plant-based foods have shown for many years. But driving most of these sales are flexitarians: those who reduce their meat intake but don't adhere to strict rules.

About 20 per cent of Australian shoppers are flexitarians, according to an annual survey by the Centre for Global Food and Resources at the University of Adelaide. A separate 2019 survey found flexitarians and meat reducers made up one in three Australians. Vegans, meanwhile, represent 2 per cent of the population.

The difference in numbers raises questions about the viability of many vegan businesses. Do flexitarians need vegan restaurants they can visit on meat-free Mondays? Wills thinks so. In fact, flexitarians are exactly who Copper Branch will target.

"The research shows that people are being more mindful," he says, pointing to the next generation of consumers who care about the environmental and social impacts of their purchases.

In Sydney, there's been a wilting of plant-based eateries in the past 18 months, with 10 reported closures. Back in Collingwood, though, Pauline Renkin estimates 70 per cent of customers at Friends of the Earth are not vegan.

"They are just people who eat here three or four times a week. They like the variety and the nutritional value of the food," she says.

Shu Liu held more Christmas parties at his restaurant last year, as workplaces chose venues that were more inclusive of vegan team members.

Data from the University of Adelaide's survey of shoppers shows that price, taste and health have been their top three considerations over the past five years. Animal welfare and environment were a low priority for the majority.

But more widespread concern at the climate crisis and food's role in that, as well as a levelling of prices between animal and plant-based proteins, could shuffle people's priorities in coming years.