Many vegan restaurants in Amsterdam struggling amid rising costs

Vegan businesses in Amsterdam are facing challenging times. Just in the past month, eight business owners have closed their doors in the city, Het Parool reported on Tuesday. Rising costs are among the problems within the vegan food and hospitality sector.

Filipa (37), a chef at Soil Vegan Café in Amsterdam-Oost, said the workers at the recently shuttered eateries have turned to her restaurant. "We've received many CVs recently, that says a lot," she told NL Times. The restaurant where she works opened its doors in 2022, as did many others. This is a recent phenomenon: since 2019, vegan restaurants in Amsterdam have been cropping up like mushrooms. The city now has around 70 of them.

This over-saturation is exacerbating the difficulties of running a plant-based restaurant, with these businesses also struggling due to high inflation. Gijsbregt Brouwer, a food trend watcher and founder of debuik.nl, explained that the market for this kind of food remains limited. "Vegan restaurants have a much much smaller target audience, so if the general landscape for restaurants becomes tougher, a vegan restaurant gets hit even harder," he told NL Times.

According to the Dutch Vegan Association (NVV), the number of vegans in the Netherlands has increased from 45,000 in 2014 to approximately 260,000 in 2020. This represents 1.5 percent of the Dutch population. According to a report by the municipality of Amsterdam, 10 percent of Amsterdam’s residents claim they never consume fish or meat, and 4 percent adhere to a completely plant-based diet.

Filipa argued that to survive, a vegan business needs to attract both vegan and non-vegan customers, considering the limited number of people who stick to a more plant-based diet. "We offer food that everyone knows, like burgers, noodles, and bitterballen, but all vegan. That helps a lot." She noted that this approach aids in attracting guests who might be skeptical of vegan food, as most of them order these classics the first time they eat in a vegan restaurant. "You need to be user-friendly," she remarked.

Not only vegan food businesses are in dire straits. Last week, Vanderveen restaurant in Amsterdam closed its doors just a month after earning its first Michelin star. Despite the prestigious recognition, the restaurant faced insurmountable challenges, including debts incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic. The owner told NL Times that sustaining a restaurant in the current times has become increasingly challenging. "That's the reality of today," he remarked.

"Being in the hospitality industry is tough," said Brouwer. "Especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, many have debt and with the rising costs, it's harder to get people to come to your restaurant because of higher prices and the restaurant's margins have slimmed even further."

However, he does not believe that the current situation spells the end for plant-based restaurants. "There will always be vegan restaurants, but a few, relative to the number of people following a vegan diet," he said. A good sign for the sector is that vegan food is becoming more popular. "We're seeing more vegetarian and vegan options on the menus of 'regular' restaurants, from fast food chains to high-end fine dining restaurants."

Filipa also expressed her optimism about the future, noting that restaurants with a fully plant-based menu are becoming more accepted. "People are going to vegan restaurants just like they would go to any other restaurant, simply to enjoy good food, not necessarily because it’s vegan," she said.

"A vegan restaurant might be slightly more expensive, but in the end, it’s just another restaurant," she added.