New VeganNation App Aims To Bring Strong Economics And Ethics Together In One Community

It was only a matter of time before vegans carved out a space on the blockchain universe. New blockchain app VeganNation is creating an online global community complete with its own economy that gives users access to vegan business location services, chat functions and reward redemption. It is a U.K. subsidiary of Israeli startup SIPUP, which has integrated a new proprietary vegan cryptocurrency, GRNC (GreenCoin).

GRNC’s are collected through regular use of the VeganNation app. The digital tokens are converted from loyalty points into spendable assets. GRNC can be used in vegan restaurants and businesses showcased on the app. At present, there are approximately 65,000 signed up.

A community in your pocket

VeganNation is intended to be exactly how it sounds; a community for people who eat a plant-based diet. It takes the recognised restaurant tracker model and expands on it to offer member interaction and transparent rewards. A new marketplace is currently being beta-tested. If successful, the app will create a unified resource for all things vegan, underpinned by a transparent and ethical economy.

The business directory feature is now a standard trope. Using location services on your smartphone, the app will show you vegan restaurants and shops nearby. VeganNation aims to delve a little deeper, with sustainable suppliers included. The businesses have an opportunity to use the platform to push updates and messages to conscious consumers, with users choosing to connect with them or not. Community members can chat with each other, and app activities earn reward points, which are converted into GRNC. This can then be spent in businesses featured within the directory. It’s a circular model designed to strengthen and grow the vegan community, individuals and enterprises included.

Founder Isaac Thomas is reacting to what he sees as the next big commercial trend. “I believe that the plant-based movement is going to be the biggest consumer transformation in history which will unfold in the next decade,” he told StartupNation. “I am here to make sure this transformation occurs faster and with the best technological infrastructure to enable such a mega-revolution.”

Cryptocurrency listing

GRNC has been listed on three separate exchanges; Liquid, FlowBTC and Bittrex. The move has been made to allow all businesses signed up to be listed in the directory easy access and withdrawal. “Being one of the first vegan crypto coins, we believe by listing on multiple exchanges, we can disrupt the vegan world and together create a more sustainable lifestyle,” Thomas told Morning Tick. “Our company is passionate about spreading our values, and we hope our app can create a better future for our planet.”

At present, VeganNation is only launched in the U.S. Global rollout is expected soon, with interested users able to register for updates.

Sustainable app popularity

Alongside the regular social media platforms, consumers are looking to add conscious apps to their devices. 2021 saw a number of new developments announced and launched, covering a spectrum of interests.

In September, Responsibly, a Danish startup, announced it had secured $2 million in a pre-seed investment round. Funding was earmarked for the launch of a new data platform designed to help businesses and retailers check the ethical credentials of potential suppliers. Targeting corporate buyers, the app has been created to help source sustainably, at scale.

Looking to support a circular fashion economy, Bandi was launched last year in the U.K. A clothes swapping platform, it allows users to find their “swap twin”, to exchange unworn clothing with. No money changes hands, with only postage to pay. The app is also free.

Lead image courtesy of Unsplash.