Hong Kong Vegan Retail and Dining Leader Green Common Opens New Rebranded Flagship in The Heart of Central

Green Common, the plant-based dining and retail store concept launched by Hong Kong’s Green Monday, has just unveiled a new rebranded flagship location. Situated in the heart of Hong Kong’s Central district, the new two-story store boasts a refreshed modern look, features an ‘oat milk as default’ coffee bar next to a plant-based grab & go grocery and deli, and an upscale Asian fusion restaurant on its upper floor. 

Green Common will open the doors of its new flagship store in Nexxus Building tomorrow (October 6), rebranding from its former Kind Kitchen location in Sheung Wan. The new store, in the heart of Hong Kong’s Central Business District, revamps the original vegan retail-and-dining concept into a modern one-stop coffee and drinks bar, plant-based grocery and refined Asian fusion dining establishment and showcases the company’s new rebranded logo and own brand color: the Green Common Aqua.

‘Oat milk as default’ coffee bar

On the ground floor, Green Common Nexxus features a coffee and drinks bar as a new addition to the store concept. Following in the footsteps of San Francisco cult coffee chain Blue Bottle, the baristas at this store will be serving up drinks with oat milk as its default option. Some of the beverages include oat lattes and iced coffees made with British startup Minor Figures’ plant-based barista-style oat milk. The coffee will be brewed from a bean blend roasted exclusively for Green Monday, which was developed to complement oat milk specifically, a first in the dairy-dominant world of barista bar culture.

The bar will serve a range of grab-and-go dishes that Green Common fans will already be familiar with, from colourful salads to classic lunchtime hot meal boxes like Hong Kong-style OmniPork Chop Rice and Beyond Beef Bolognese Pasta. Breakfast offerings include vegan croissants and cinnamon rolls, while other 100% dairy and egg-free baked goods such as plant-based muffins will be available all-day. 

In response to the growing awareness of health and nutrition amongst Hong Kong consumers, which a Green Monday survey last year revealed is pushing flexitarianism firmly into the mainstream in the city, to-go dishes served at the bar will be labelled with nutritional information for the first time. 

On the ground floor is Green Common’s retail section, where busy urbanites can stock up on a wide range of plant-based brands and everyday grocery items, including Beyond Meat, Heura, Moving Mountains, Eat Just and the entire range of OmniFoods products, the food tech arm of Green Monday. OmniFoods includes ready-to-eat frozen meals, many of which are veganised local classics such as siu mai, dumplings and fried noodles, as well as the famous vegan pork analogue OmniPork, which includes Mince, Luncheon and Strips, not to mention a new line of grab-n-heat Chinese cuisine ready meals.

Asian fusion plant-based dining

On the second floor, Green Common Nexxus is forging a new gastronomic identity that represents a departure from its its former Kind Kitchen concept that focused on comfort food classics, with what the company describes as “elevated Asian fusion plant-based cuisine”. The menu, which centers around small plates and sharing dishes, offers nods to Japanese, Southeast Asian and other regional cuisines including Pani-Puri, Crispy Wonton and Ochazuke. In addition, diners can partake in a curated list of vegan wines, many of which are biodynamic and organic, and one of the only certified vegan sakes we’ve come across. 

All the dishes served at the restaurant, in line with all Green Common locations, will be 100% vegan-friendly. International fare, such as Smoked OmniPork Luncheon Wellington and Heura Chicken Caesar Salad, will also be available at the restaurant.  

No doubt OmniSeafood, Green Monday’s newest range of vegan seafood alternatives, will pop up on the menu. The Pani-Puri and the Ochazuke, for instance, features the brand’s vegan crab. The company debuted the line in June this year, marking its first foray into the fast-growing alternative seafood category and with one of the products showcased representing the world’s first-ever non-breaded vegan fish fillet substitute. 

Green Monday non-stop expansion 

Commenting on the launch of the flagship, Green Monday CEO and co-founder David Yeung said the new location “aims to impress, empower and transform everyone who walks through our door.”

“From dine-in gourmet to grab-and-go convenience…we are here to set a new pinnacle for the world that gourmet, innovation, sustainability, wellness, kindness and accessibility can absolutely coexist,” he added.

Green Common’s rebranded flagship opening comes as the plant-based group races ahead with its expansion, doubling down on its presence both locally in Hong Kong and abroad.

Fuelled by its record-breaking $70 million funding round, Green Monday has extended its Hong Kong availability with two of the city’s biggest retail chains ParknShop and Wellcome, as well as through partnerships with QSR giants like McDonald’s, KFC and convenience chain 7-Eleven. The unstoppable company somehow found the time to debut multiple vegan ready-meal and branded snack launches and launch a new ESG Coalition program.

Globally, the company most recently entered the US market, launching via foodservice before entering national retail with players like Sprouts and Whole Foods, adding to its growing list of countries including the UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. According to Green Monday, OmniFoods’ point-of-sales is estimated to be around 40,000 across 20 countries. 

Green Monday has taken its Green Common concept international over the past few months, opening stores in Singapore and Shanghai. In fact, this week also sees the plant-based leader open a second outlet in the mainland market, with a new Green Common at Swire’s Taikoo Li mall in Shanghai, bringing their total to 12 worldwide.

All images courtesy of Green Monday.