What a Vegan Bakery in Paris Taught Me About Inclusion and Innovation

See these beautiful, delicious desserts? Imagine being vegan and being able to admire them…but not enjoy a single bite.

That’s how it can feel walking through France, where bakeries appear on every block, overflowing with croissants, cakes, breads, sandwiches, quiches, and seasonal treats.

France is known for its pastries. Bakeries are everywhere, filled with tempting croissants, cakes, breads, sandwiches, quiches, and seasonal treats.

But for someone who is vegan, that experience can be frustrating: they can admire the pastries, but they can’t enjoy them.

Finally, Land & Monkeys solved that issue by making bakery items available to vegan customers, giving them access to this universe.

With several locations across Paris, Land & Monkeys doesn’t treat vegan options as an afterthought.

It recreates the full bakery experience, offering pastries, cakes, sandwiches, quiches, seasonal specialties, and breads designed for a specific audience.

And everything I tried was delicious, so it can also appeal to non-vegan customers.

Last Christmas, I even found a vegan bûche de Noël, which made me so happy that I could share the French tradition with my vegan child.

Finally, vegans can be part of this cherished holiday tradition and not feel left out.

This simple but powerful experience reminded me that innovation often starts by noticing who’s being left out and asking, “How can we welcome them in?”

When we expand our understanding of the people we serve (or don’t serve at all), we often uncover opportunities that were there all along.

Where might your business, industry, or community be unintentionally leaving people out, and what new options can you offer?