App to sprout new romantics

An upcoming dating app gives vegans the seed to sprout new relationships that Tinder can’t offer.

Melbourne-based Sam McCallum, founder of the Sprout App, aims to connect vegans and vegetarians, for both friendships and romance.

“Veganism is more than a diet choice, it is a whole lifestyle. It determines your values about everything in life; from how you affect others and the planet, to the respect of your health,” said Mr McCallum.

“There is too much friction if the person you are going out with is going against your whole value system three to five times a day in front of you, by eating non-vegan food.”

A Roy Morgan research report found an increase in the vegetarian population in New Zealand, with a growth of 27 per cent since 2011.

The growth is strongest among the age demographic of 14-34 year-olds, North Islanders, and men, according to the research.

Auckland resident and vegan, Grace Mitchell, 20, said with vegetarian and vegan lifestyles becoming more popular, there was a need for an app like this, to meet like-minded people.

“Most people are kind of open to the situation of dating someone who eats meat, but from trial and error, I have come to realise that going on a date with someone who orders a giant juicy steak is off-putting,” said Miss Mitchell.

“You won’t be eye to eye on a lot of things if you have a different view on something as basic as that.”

Tim Restieaux, 20, another Auckland vegan, said he would most likely use the app as much as Tinder to assess the dating pool, but probably would not interact with anyone.

“That being said, it is needed in vegan communities, especially when divisions between vegan and non-vegan relationships have ended in the past,” said Mr Restieaux.

Mr McCallum is currently in the process of finding various people to fund the project, including vegan businesses, celebrities and venture capitalists.

If funding is successful, it will take about three months to launch the app, which will be available worldwide.