Change and diversity are the center of our world, especially as everyone is branching out of their comfort zone and experiencing new things. Some people choose to take part in a new diet: a vegan lifestyle, meaning that they refuse to eat animal products. As veganism becomes more common, companies have started to produce new snacks and foods that follow these vegan guidelines. More so, Arizona has officially opened its first fully vegan grocery store.

The Veggie Rebellion grocery store is approximately 1,400 square feet, according to KTAR. Although it may be tiny, this store is a first and deserves respect for that. Veggie Rebellion announces on their website that inside the store “vegan snacks, household and personal care products, [and] fresh produce” can be found and bought for customer needs. Veggie Rebellion can be found between Glendale and 57th avenue, as stated in KTAR. Glendale was an interesting choice for their first location, and Cronkite News implied that Scottsdale would have been a better option. The founders must have had an unknown reason to open the store in Glendale, but despite this fact, the first fully vegan grocery store is open.

According to Cronkite News, the vegan store officially opened in late February by a vegan couple. Sandra and Dylan Mckee were inspired to create a completely vegan grocery store when shopping became such a pain. In addition to this, KTAR states that “he vegan food industry grew by $3.1 billion in [the 2017] year,” so the demand was up for vegan supplies. Veggie Rebellion is currently open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, as explained in Veggie Rebellion.

As large masses of people converted to veganism, there became more of a struggle to find appropriate products. KTAR claims that shopping for vegan goods can be quite difficult as vegans and those on plant-based diets (vegan by another name) are required to look through the ingredients on each and every label on items purchased to ensure they are truly vegan items. The impatience of the people is Veggie Rebellion’s greatest ally. Sandra and Dylan Mckee were hoping that, since all of their products are 100 percent vegan, it would attract customers from farther out, as stated in Cronkite News. And they were undeniably correct. Cronkite News interviewed Aubrey King, who drives almost 30 miles to shop at this store. King says “As a vegan, all of that would be so accessible, in one spot, so I would be able to get everything…” Overall, vegans across Arizona will appreciate the efficiency of this store, and will perhaps take a short visit into Veggie Rebellion in the near future.

Lots of time and effort was put in to this store to be completely vegan, even going as far as the co-owner herself scanning the labels, according to Cronkite News. So if you currently are or know a vegan in the state of Arizona, send them to here to easily access all the vegan products they could dream of, conveniently located in one place!