Meet the Expert Jury

Albrecht Wolfmeyer

Director of ProVeg Incubator

Albrecht Wolfmeyer is the International Director at ProVeg Incubator, the world’s first and leading alt-protein startup Incubator. The program’s 90+ impact-driven food tech alumni have raised over €250 million and are selling products all over the world. Albrecht Wolfmeyer is an expert in startup coaching, investments, alternative protein, fundraising, strategy and communications. Wolfmeyer studied in Berlin, Toronto, Paris and Fribourg.

Réka Szöllősi

Freelance Food Sustainability Consultant

RĂ©ka is a freelance food regulatory and communication consultant, expert in sustainable food production and consumption. Her mission is to catalyze the shift to more sustainable food systems by transferring knowledge and best practices via consultancy, journalism, public speaking and trainings. She is the founder of the first Hungarian blog and consultancy aimed to promote a plant-forward food policy in Hungary.

Renato Pichler

Founder of V-Label; CEO of Swissveg

Renato Pichler, Founder of V-Label GmbH, has been working full-time to spread the vegan-vegetarian way of life since 1993. He also founded Swissveg the Animal Party in Switzerland, and was the president of the European Vegetarian Union for 7 years.

Sonalie Figueiras

Social Entrepreneur; Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Green Queen

Serial social entrepreneur & trends forecaster Sonalie Figueiras is a sustainability expert, food futurist, and eco-powerhouse who has been inspiring global audiences for over a decade with practical steps on how to fight climate change. Known as the Green Queen of Asia, she is the founder and Editor in Chief of the award-winning Green Queen – the region’s first impact media platform. She is also the co-founder and CEO of organic sourcing platform Ekowarehouse and climate tech SaaS Source Green.

Abigail Stevens

Marketing Director of Plant Based World Expo Europe

For the past 10 years, Abigail has spent her career working with and for brands in the plant-based sector, helping them to navigate everything from labelling, ingredients, marketing, and now in-person events. Abigail has a keen eye for creative brands and likes to see companies pushing the boundaries with their approach to plant-based.

Vikas Garg

Founder of abillion

Vikas Garg is the founder and CEO of abillion, a digital platform that is helping conscious consumers around the world eat, shop, and live more sustainably. Born in India and raised in New York City, Vikas spent the first part of his career in investment banking and finance. He has been selected as one of V-Label’s 20 Food Heroes in 2023.

Paula González Carracedo

Founder of The Vegan Agency

Paula González Carracedo created the first Vegan PR Agency in Spain, The Vegan Agency, in 2020. She works as the Spanish Campaign Manager for Generation Vegan (formerly Million Dollar Vegan), and also hosts the first podcast interviewing solely vegan and vegetarian women: Ingobernables.

James Pryor

Co-Founder and Creative Director of Touch; EPDA Member

James Pryor is the co-founder and Creative Director of Touch, a structural pack and product innovation agency that focuses on sustainable and future-proofed brand and commercial growth for some of the world’s most recognized brands and businesses. James has a deep interest in design and how it can positively impact sustainability.

Enric Urrutia

Director of Bueno y Vegano

Enric Urrutia is the Director of the specialized media Bueno y Vegano and publications Bio Eco Actual, Master Organic, and El BotiquĂ­n Natural, among others. Enric is also the producer and director of the documentary film, La Barbacoa (2012).

Vera Oswald

Head of Customer Relations at Vegconomist

Vera Oswald is working as Head of Customer Relations at Vegconomist – the vegan business magazine, responsible for global brand awareness and B2B relations with 8+ years of experience in the plant-based industry from positions as Senior Project Manager at ProVeg International and Head of Communications at VeggieWorld.

Sagar Tandon

Partner at Beyond Impact

Sagar Tandon is currently a Partner at Beyond Impact, an algorithm-driven matchmaking platform for accelerators, investors, and startups. Sagar is involved in setting up two funds – Gray Matters Capital, edLABS & Australian Govt. DFAT-backed impact fund. He led investments in 18 early-stage ventures, and is a mentor at Good Food Institute India & APAC, Founders Institute Food APAC, and Fashion for Good, Netherlands.

Catherine Coward

Co-Founder of The Good Crowd

Catherine is a B Corp expert and believes in the power of business to drive impact for people and planet. She has over 20 years’ experience working on and in fast-paced, successful, purpose-led food businesses. Catherine combines her deep knowledge and interest in sustainability issues with real-life business experience, to drive impact.

Dr. Toni Vernelli

International Head of Communications and Marketing of Veganuary

The daughter of a butcher from a small town in Northern Canada, Toni gave up meat in her teens when she learned that we can live and be healthy without it. Now vegan for more than 30 years, she believes passionately that we need a mass shift towards plant-based eating and is proud to be part of an organization fueling this change.

Our Expert Jury will be evaluating shortlisted entries in the Sustainability, Innovation, and Marketing & Branding categories during the month of September. To learn more about the different categories, check out the Categories page.

Get to Know Our Partners

Plant Based World Expo Europe is the only 100% plant based professional event to attract an audience of buyers and food and beverage professionals from across retail, food service and public sector catering. This unique event combines an international exhibition of the biggest and best products in the market, as well as insightful sessions, high-level networking and tasting opportunities.

The mission of Plant Based World Expo is simple: getting the latest plant-based products in front of decision makers, educating them on how these foods will improve the wealth of their business and the health of the people they serve. Plant Based World Expo Europe will take place at ExCeL London on 15-16th November 2023.

Vegconomist is the first global vegan business magazine. We cover the most important news for the plant-based industry, market reports, business insights, interviews, innovations, new products, investments, trends, companies, entrepreneurs and startups.

ProVeg Incubator is the world’s first and  leading acceleration program for plant-based, fermentation, and cultured-food startups. We are shaping the future of food by exclusively supporting pioneering startups that are developing disruptive alternatives to animal-based products and services. Since its launch in November 2018, the ProVeg Incubator has worked with 90+ startups from all over the world, helping them to raise more than €250 million and launch products in over 15,000 stores.

Founded by serial social entrepreneur, climate activist and food futurist Sonalie Figueiras in 2011 and based in Hong Kong with a global outlook and an international audience, Green Queen is an award-winning impact media platform advocating for social & environmental change, the leading sustainability news outlet in the Asian region and a global reference for food and climate reporting and the alternative protein industry.

Trade magazin focuses on the market of fast moving consumer goods and is made for the decision makers of the sector, from the smallest manufacturer, distributor, retailer or catering partners to the managers and heads of the biggest companies, and of course to all the decision makers of service providers or manufacturers.

Bueno y Vegano is the freely distributed print and digital media of information at the service of consumers, producers, distributors and retailers of vegan production.

The Vegan Agency is the result of more than 15 years of vegan activism and independent work in communication and PR.

They encourage vegan brands and vegan people to raise their voices above the hubbub of the 21st century and connect with their clients in a meaningful way and lead the change we all want to see.

The Vegan Agency helps them to shape their ethos to gain media visibility, manage their relationships with the perfect influencers for their brand and support them as their community grows to better spread their message and stand out as a leading brand in their sector.

Veganuary is a global non-profit organisation that encourages people to try vegan for January and beyond. More than 2.5 million people have signed up to their one-month vegan pledge since 2014, and in 2023 alone more than 1,610 new vegan products and menu options were launched in their key campaign countries.

Throughout the year, Veganuary encourages and supports people and businesses alike to move to a plant-based diet as a way of protecting the environment, preventing animal suffering, and improving the health of millions of people.

Over the next five years, they aim to make powerful strides toward a world where vegan is the norm rather than the exception.

epda is the European community of brand & packaging design agencies providing a platform to exchange, to network, and to learn together by involving different stakeholders of the branding & packaging value chain.

epda runs 2 physical conferences on business relevant topics per year in different European metropolises.

From insight to in-the-hand, touch delivers brand and consumer centric structural design and innovation that’s sustainable, commercially viable and technically feasible. Future-proofing business growth and
shaping things to come.

Beyond Animal is an algorithm-driven matchmaking platform letting accelerators, investors, and startups interact with each other depending upon their interests and focus areas. It provides highly-curated investment opportunities to investors and allows startups to interact with qualified investors.

RĂ©ka is a freelance food regulatory and communication consultant, expert in sustainable food production and consumption. Her mission is to catalyze the shift to more sustainable food systems by transferring knowledge and best practices via consultancy, journalism, public speaking and trainings. She is the founder of the first Hungarian blog and consultancy aimed to promote a plant-forward food policy in Hungary.

abillion’s name embodies their vision, a billion people making choices that are better for everyone. They’ve helped millions of people across 187 countries discover community and impact through vegan food, sustainable products and a growing network of people championing sustainability. They’ve launched the world’s first P2P vegan marketplace, and they’re helping more than 225,000 businesses globally adopt more sustainable practices.

The Good Crowd is a strategic brand and sustainability agency with expertise in B Corp certification and brand & consumer strategy. They partner with ambitious brands with purpose at their heart. They use their expertise in Brand Strategy & Sustainability to help your brand stand out from the crowd & bring your story to life for investors, retailers & consumers.