What’s The Buzz?
The bodega is the ultimate New York institution. Where else can you buy a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, deodorant, and a single popsicle at 3 a.m. while talking to the clerk about baseball? New York’s bodegas aren’t just corner stores; they're 13,000 beating hearts fueling a city of over eight million people.
Delish.com
New York Magazine/Grub Street
In the fall of 2020, Zacharias debuted Plantega as a pilot program at three bodegas in the Bronx and Brooklyn. The original idea was branded fridges stocked with plant-based products, plus a small menu of four deli sandwiches. The fridges were a bust; the real action was on the griddle
VegNews
New York City is defined by many things, but few are more iconic than its food staples like pizza, bagels, and cheesecakes. And if you ask any true New Yorker, classic breakfast sandwiches like the bacon, egg, and cheese rank right up there with the rest.
Plantega is making Greenpoint (and the rest of the city) greener, one bodega bacon, egg, and cheese at a time.
Nil Zacharias is a Greenpoint local and the founder and CEO of Plantega.
Greenpointers
FAST COMPANY
Bodegas are a way of life in New York City, and Plantega is a brand bringing plant-based food options to a much broader audience through the city’s network of shops. In 2021, it launched in 14 locations across four NYC boroughs, from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, to Jamaica, Queens, with a goal to bridge the gap between plant-based food manufacturers and independent corner stores, while helping spark a shift toward more sustainable eating.
Vegconomist
Across New York City, Plantega is making plant-based meat, cheese and egg products more approachable, affordable, and accessible through a unique concept of in-store deli marketing.
The New Yorker
The morning after winning the New York City mayor’s race, in November, Eric Adams stopped for breakfast at Marinello’s Gourmet Deli, in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Adams will be the city’s first vegan mayor.
New York DAILY NEWS
Adams, the first New York City mayor with a plant-based diet, enjoyed the first tasting of the Mayor’s Breakfast Wrap at Bushwick’s Marinello’s Gourmet Deli. It’s provided by Plantega, which is a New York City based food company aiming to put healthier options in New York City bodegas.
BUSHWICK DAILY
Former Brooklyn borough president and police captain Eric Adams won the mayoral election on Tuesday, Nov. 2, making him New York City’s first-ever vegan mayor. He celebrated his victory by enjoying a plant-based breakfast wrap named after his honor — the “Plant-Based Mayor’s Breakfast Wrap.”
VegNews
“New project Plantega partners with Eat Just, Miyoko’s Creamery, Ben & Jerry’s, and many more companies to bring vegan food fridges and plant-based deli options to bodegas across New York City. “
Bronx 12
“A plant-based food company that aims to give bodegas healthier food options is expanding across New York City.
Plantega started their pilot program at just three bodegas, and after getting a good response, it has now expanded to a total of seven bodegas across the city.”
The Beet
“A New-York-based project Plantega plans to bring vegan food fridges and plant-based deli options to at least 20 bodegas across New York City this year. Plantega initially began this mission with a 12-week pilot program in November 2020 that set up three vegan fridges at 24-hour bodegas.”
Speciality Food Association
“For too long, the sustainable food movement has felt out of reach and culturally out of context for a large number of New Yorkers. Plantega is on a mission to change that," said Nil Zacharias, leader of the Plantega initiative, in a statement.”
VegWorld Magazine
“Thanks to the overwhelmingly positive response from bodegas and consumers in the Bronx and Brooklyn, Plantega announced today it is expanding its effort to help make plant-based easier to access, every day.”
Vegconomist
“Plantega – a community-powered food system that works with New York bodega owners to supply the neighbourhood with plant-based essentials such as burgers, eggs, cheese, deli slices, and non-dairy ice cream – announces that after a successful trial in three locations last year, it will be expanding into over 20 bodegas across the city.”
VegNews
“Three bodegas—two in Brooklyn and one in The Bronx—now feature Plantega fridges filled with vegan eggs, meats, and cheeses as part of an initiative to bring plant-based foods to underserved communities…”
Fox 5 - NY
“Our Hero of the Day is Plantega. It’s a new initiative that aims to bring iconic plant-based brands to New York City bodegas…”
VegWorld Magazine
“A collective of several leading food advocates is bringing iconic plant-based brands to three bodegas in New York City in an initiative called, Plantega…”
The Beet
“Fridges brimming with vegan products will now be available inside of three 24-hour bodegas in New York City neighborhoods where plant-based foods are difficult to find…”
GreenMatters
“Depending on where you live, getting your hands on plant-based ingredients can be difficult due to accessibility reasons….”
Eater NY
“Three bodegas in NYC — Gourmet Deli at 114 Wyckoff Avenue in Brooklyn; Don Polo Meat Market at 3143 Fulton Street in Brooklyn; and “My Deli” at 1201 Castle Hill in the Bronx — are trialing more vegan offerings at their shops via new coolers stocked with brands like Beyond Meat, Eat Just, and Tofurkey…”
The Spoon
“Three bodegas in New York City will host Plantega, a collective that sources vegan products for in-store displays, and its vegan fridges for a 12-week trial run. The fridges will contain vegan products from brands like Just Egg, Miyoko’s Creamery, Beyond Meat, Good Catch, and No Evil Foods...”
Associations Now
“Plantega, a coalition of plant-based food makers and food advocates, is working to bring more vegetarian-friendly options to bodegas in New York City…”
Optimist Daily
“If you live in New York City, you will soon have easier access to plant-based ingredients thanks to Plantega, an initiative bringing vegan foods to the city’s bodegas, corner shops, and convenience stores...”
NBC 4 — NY
“It’s very hard to find a vegan place in the Bronx and luckily I found them. And now here I am, getting lunch from them everyday now…”
Green Queen
“The ease and safety of vending machines amid the pandemic and the rising plant-based trend has also prompted New York City’s bodegas to bring in Plantega, a vegan fridge collective stocking products ranging from Miyoko’s Creamery to Beyond Meat, making plant-based products more accessible to underprivileged communities...”
Eat For The Planet
“Plantega is a unique food access initiative and distribution platform for plant based food. We have launched as a 3-month pilot in 3 independent corner stores (better known as bodegas in NYC) located in underserved communities…”
BKReader
“When Erick Castro first went to a vegan restaurant in 2015, he wasn’t impressed. The East New York local was being bugged by a friend – the only person he knew who was vegan – to take up the lifestyle, but he was far from convinced…”
Mold
“From now until January, bodega visitors in Brooklyn and the Bronx will notice a new addition to several of their regular spots. “My Deli” in the Bronx, Don Polo Meat Market in Cypress Hills, and Gourmet Deli in Bushwick will now be home to Plantega coolers, offering a variety of plant-based and vegan products for purchase...”
News 12
Foodable
“In the latest episode of the Taste Kitchen’s Good Food lab series, Brittany Cascone chats with Nil Zacharias, the founder of Eat For The Planet & the co-founder of Plantega. Cascone and Zacharias explore the future of plant-based foods...”