A vegan diet is now mainstream. No longer restricted to hard line animal rights activists the booming meat-free category is now worth more than £650m in the UK, according to Mintel, as more and more health conscious consumers opt to ditch meat and dairy.
“Veganism is growing at its fastest ever rate,” says Jimmy Pierce, spokesman for the Vegan Society. “More and more people are waking up to the health and environmental benefits of going vegan, as well as finding out for themselves what really goes on in the meat and dairy industries, and deciding they do not want to contribute to the pain and suffering of animals.
“The image of veganism is undergoing the most radical change in its history, shedding tired old stereotypes. People now closely associate veganism with health, fitness and wellbeing when the opposite was perhaps true a few years ago.”
In fact Mintel found that 48% of Brits view meat-free alternatives as eco-friendly and 52% believe they are healthier too.
As a result the Vegan Society had nearly 25,000 people sign up to take part in Veganuary (Vegan January) this year and say that each month more than 1,000 people are signing up to a 30 Day Vegan Pledge.
All this growth leaves a huge opportunity for brands with vegan or vegetarian credentials. The major multiples now offer vegan alternatives across a number of categories, including milk, cheese and meat substitutes. Some have even added dairy free milks to their own label ranges.
“This trend is only going to continue as we see free-from shelves expand further,” adds Pierce. “Dairy free alternatives to milk keep increasing their market share – almond milk sales are growing at a rate of 70% to 80% year-on-year in the UK.”
THE BRITISH RETAILERS’ OPINION – Waitrose say they are “broadening [their] range of vegetarian and vegan products, as well as labelling foods that are not obviously vegetarian with a vegetarian logo” and Marks & Spencer publish a comprehensive list of all vegan products in their range updated on a six-monthly basis. And then there are specialist suppliers, including the online Vegan Store which sells everything from groceries and confectionery, to cosmetics and clothing. Founder Lisa Ruskin was inspired to launch the store in 2000 after working in the United States where there were far more options for those on a vegan diet. “We were the first vegan shopping site in the UK to offer more than one type of product,” she says. “We’re always on the lookout for new products, and pride ourselves on being the first to bring products to the market.”
THE MAIN CHALLENGES FOR PRODUCERS – In those 15 years her team has developed the first vegan marshmallow, the first vegan Mars bar and a powdered soy milk creamer for foodservice. They’re also a distributor for Vegg with which customers can make fried and scrambled eggs, and stock a wide range of mock meats including steaks and chorizo. But there are still plenty of gaps in the market, she believes. “The category in my humble opinion that needs more work is the cheese option,” she says. “I’d like to see more flavours; I’d love to see vegan brie or a good blue cheese. I’d also like to see more fish alternatives; a really good vegan tuna or prawns. On the sweet side we’re still missing good caramels or toffees.” Those brands looking to break into the category will face challenges though. Not only will they have to compete with global fmcg suppliers such as Unilever, which launched a Ben and Jerry’s vegan ice-cream and an eggless version of Hellman’s spread only this month, but they’ll also have to satisfy demanding supermarkets. “From experience it’s really hard as a small manufacturer to deal with the supermarkets, the list of demands they make on you is just impossible for a small supplier,” warns Ruskin. With a share of a growing £650m market up for grabs though it might just be worth the effort.
By Megan Saunders
