Dallas pop-up beets the odds

Andrea Czobor
Aug 31, 2018 · 3 min read

How one woman’s wish became an inclusive widespread entrepreneurial catalyst

Watch the event’s InstaStory recap video here!

When Bishop Arts resident and founder of V Market Dallas, Christina Bluford, went vegan 11 years ago, lifestyle-friendly consumer options were scarce. Today, she runs sell-out vegan markets across the Dallas-Fort Worth area with notable award-winning restaurants and businesses from across the Southwest region like El Palote Panaderia, CocoAndré Chocolatier, Handmade Recycled, Hippeaz Vegan Eats, Cake Thieves and Candied Vegan.

“I thought I was the only vegan in Texas for quite some time,” Bluford said. “There was never anything here for me, but I saw vegan events happening in NYC, Brooklyn, Denver and was like, why can’t we do that here?”

With Dallas’ vegan scene in it’s infant stages in 2016, Bluford knew that in order to kickstart the local consumer community she dreamed of, she would need to start this market herself. The response from small business owners and vegans for this one-stop-vegan-shop was overwhelming.

“Google Trends show an astonishing 90% increase in ‘vegan’ searches in last 12 months.” | Courtesy of Vegan Food & Living.com
In the Top Trends for Prepared Food 2017 report, vegan US consumer population significantly grew to 6% in 2017, compared to 1% three years earlier.

V Market’s debut packed the Union Coffee Shop and parking lot — now Herb’s House coffee shop, leading to the rapid growth and expansion of several vegan homemakers and entrepreneurs.

Fine hand-crafted Mexican chocolate and attendee favorite, CoCoAndré Chocolatier sold-out within hours of their first event. Having debuted with V Market since their conception, they have been featured in VegNews — the largest vegan media brand in the world and recently began providing chocolate to first-class customers on American Airlines.

“Christina has such a big place in our chocolate hearts. It’s never about her. She does everything for her vendors and friends to succeed,” Head Cholocatier Cindy Pedraza Puente said.

Chef and Founder of Green Spark Mafia, Brooke Ali is one of the many females lead the vegan business scene after launching in response to the spike of conscious consumerism. Her online program teaches students how to develop amazing plant-based meals and navigate a new lifestyle without letting it get in the way of living life.

“My two cooking demos with V Market gave me the platform to reach both vegans and non-vegans,” Green Spark Mafia founder and Chef, Brooke Ali said. “A ton of people really got into the recipes and shared how it became some of their favorites. Christina effortlessly puts together these incredible events. I’m happy seeing all her hard work pay off.”

V Market attendees posing with cruelty-free designer brand Cykochik’s photo frame. | Courtesy of V Market Dallas.

Although the market created awareness and fixed the need for lifestyle inclusive products, Bluford noticed the lack of resources avaliable to inexperienced vegan businesspeople. Soon after, Cultivate Vegan was born. The initiative connecting and educating vegan entrepreneurs cultivates veganism with seminars, speakers and workshops.

Bluford’s newest endeavor is leading the creative direction for Sprinkles Creative, a vegan social media agency she founded alongside her close vegan girlfriends.

Whether someone is interested in networking, supporting local businesses, or learning about the vegan lifestyle, Bluford hopes that others embrace her event takeaways.

“Supporting love, kindness, and compassion is money and energy well spent.”

The start of the 2018–2019 V Market season is just a few weeks away. Follow @vmarketdallas and count on them to bring the best vegan goods just in time for the holiday season.

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