Vegan store The KYND Butcher takes residence in Ascot Vale
A plant-based diet enthusiast has opened a vegan butcher shop in Ascot Vale, offering an eye-opening range of meat alternatives – some that even “bleed”. Check out the range.
North West
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Melbourne’s first vegan butcher has opened in Ascot Vale.
The KYND Butcher, off Union Rd, is the first butcher in the city to stock only healthy plant-based alternatives to sausages and steak.
Owner Matthew Sipala said he decided to open up the shop with his business partner Amanda Lethlean after figuring out there was a gap in the market in the west.
“It’s the convenience for people in the west side of town having a one-stop shop to buy their barbecue, Christmas and Easter products rather than going to Prahran or Brunswick to buy their vegan products,” he said.
“It also came from the difficulty of navigating traditional supermarket shelves filled with animal-based products.”
The butcher has been open for just over a month and stocks an array of alternative ‘meat’ including mince, sausages, patties, salami, ham, turkey, schnitzel, pulled pork made with jack fruit and vegan cheeses.
“It tastes like beef, it looks like it and it even bleeds like it,” Mr Sipala said.
He said the mince, sausages and patties had been the most popular so far, while their wholefood range including brown rice sausages, lentil burgers and Italian sun dried tomato sausages was also popular.
The business owner, from Essendon, said he was “super excited” to be the first shop of its kind.
“It’s exciting to be able to provide people with that option and be the head of change for a greater good in the local area,” he said.
Mr Sipala, who has been plant-based himself for more than four years, said more and more people were jumping on the bandwagon.
“People are looking at the impact animal products are having on the environment, their health and of course the animals,” he said.
While all the products are currently sourced by suppliers, the duo are currently cooking up their own homemade products to land on shelves this year.
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“We’re recreating some alternate-style wholefood meat and meat substitutes to accompany people with allergies or people who are typically meat eaters craving that experience,” Mr Sipala said.
“We’re currently taste testing and trailing some products, they’re going to be products you haven’t seen on the vegan scene.”
The butcher is open from 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Saturday.