Vegan Business Talk

In this episode I interview Jessica Bailey from The Cruelty Free Shop in Sydney, Australia, a speciality retail and online store carrying more than 1,500 vegan products, ranging from food and skincare to fashion, books and accessories. Jessica started the business as an online store in 2001 after going vegan while still working full time as an IT project manager.  Her aim was to provide a one-stop-shop where people could buy hard-to-find vegan foods without having to do the time-consuming label reading themselves. In 2012 Jessica opened the first physical store in the inner-west suburb of Glebe in Sydney, followed two years later by a store in Melbourne. Just a couple of weeks ago, she opened a brand new store in Brisbane, Queensland and is currently scouting out premises for a branch in Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory. A passionate animal rights advocate, Jessica ran the Cruelty Free Festival for three years as a fundraiser for charity Animal Liberation NSW, which now draws crowds of around 5