Veganism is becoming more and more popular with each passing day. Asif Ali Gohar, currently residing in Germany, is a Pakistani-born entrepreneur determined to introduce a new product in the Pakistani market. Asif Ali Gohar was born in Karachi, the former capital of Pakistan, in 1992. At the young age of 12 years, Asif Ali Gohar, alongside his family, moved to the German city of Hamburg. When Asif was only 15 years old, he realised he did not like the idea of people consuming animals and killing them for their own or even for pleasure. Therefore, from a young age, he turned vegan.
A school project furthered his interest in veganism, and he researched vegan alternatives to leather. Later on, during his major in business administration at the University of Hamburg, he started tests with rice as a leather substitute at home and found a way to convert rice into a leather simile. He used rice as the primary agent and yeast and acetic acid bacteria to make it solid. After several such tests and research, he could convert rice into leather which looked precisely like animal leather. Asif has perfected his methods of converting rice-based leather slime into finished leather sheets that can be used to make leather products.
Veganism seems to be an unstoppable trend. Countries worldwide, especially in the West, have a massive demand for quality vegan substitutes. Vegan leather made by Asif Ali Gohar is durable and rugged and, more importantly, replicates animal leather. It is hard for someone unfamiliar with vegan leather to differentiate between genuine leather and Asif’s leather simile. Veganism, in general, has played a vital role in transforming people's beliefs, which has led to very high demand for vegan products.
Over the last few decades, veganism has rapidly become popular worldwide. Initially, it was only popular in the West, but now even the developing countries are catching up with the concept. The idea of veganism does not end with animals not being used for food. It is a complete lifestyle. Abstaining from animal-based products in food and nonfood consumption can be termed veganism. This essentially means that one cannot consume meat and dairy products. Moreover, products made from animals, such as soaps and leather and animal-tested products, go against the ideology of veganism.
More recently, Pakistan has also caught up with the global culture as there is a burgeoning demand for vegan products. Asif believes that by introducing vegan leather in the Pakistan market, he can generate revenues from a very new and fresh market developing within Pakistan. In addition, he wants to conduct international operations where he produces the leather in Pakistan and exports it worldwide. Pakistan has got a significant leather industry with clients all over the world. If vegan leather catches up, we could rely on vegan leather for a significant share of our exports. Asif is currently looking for a network of individuals that can align with his ideology and begin working on initiating the project.
