No Swiping Required: Vegetarians Find Love At Valentine Events Coast To Coast

TORONTO - Jan. 9, 2019 - PRLog -- You may have heard of speed dating. But what about veg speed dating? This Valentine's, vegans and vegetarians in 20 cities across North America will be looking for love, thanks to a growing Canadian business, Find Veg Love (https://findveglove.com/).

The brainchild of Ottawa vegans Karine Charbonneau and Andy Brighten, Find Veg Love launched in 2017 with a mission to help veg singles meet in person. And it's working. So far, their signature Veg Speed Date events have generated over 3000 matches in almost 100 cities. A couple who met at Veg Speed Date in San Francisco  got married (https://findveglove.com/success-stories/) at an incredible all-vegan wedding last year.

So why speed dating? "We've been hearing consistently that our customers are tired of swiping – they want to meet other vegetarians and vegans in the real world," explains Andy Brighten. "A structured event, run by a trained host, is the best way to make that happen." His claim is backed up by research (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/science/10tier.html) suggesting speed dating is a lot more effective than online dating. Three of four Veg Speed Date attendees come away with a match on their first try.

Hearing from attendees puts a human face on the statistics. Take Kelly, who came out to a Veg Speed Date event in Toronto. "There are so many online dating apps and sites," she wrote, "but less than 1% of the people I've encountered on them are vegetarian or vegan." At her first event, Kelly matched with four vegan men, and made a new female friend to boot – "so much better," she said.

What about the concern that veg men are like unicorns? A study by the Vegetarian Resource Group (http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2011issue4/vj2011issue4poll.php) revealed it is "a misconception that more women than men are vegetarian." So it hasn't been a struggle to balance the ratio at Veg Speed Date events. One participant in Ottawa said, "I've attended non-veg speed dating events and found this event to be much better organized, with an even number of girls and guys." Another veg dater, from Philadelphia, wrote, "I never knew these men existed before this event."

Okay, so the events are effective, but do they take nerves of steel? To eliminate awkwardness, Find Veg Love has designed a unique matching system. Attendees just log into the website and click who they like, during or after the event. "There's no judgment or rejection, no pressure to tell your 'date' whether you like them, and no exchanging personal information," the company explains. Results are confidential and attendees find out whom they match with by midnight.

The weeks leading up to Valentine's, February 6-13, Veg Speed Date events will be taking place in 20 cities across Canada and the United States. Learn more at FindVegLove.com (https://findveglove.com/success-stories/)