Plant Power!

Plant based foods continue to dominate the headlines and act as a key driver of NPD in the UK food business today, supported by the Veganuary campaign which asks consumers to sign up to a vegan diet for January.  According to Ipsos Mori ten times the number of consumers who actually sign up (300,000 predicted by the Veganuary campaign organisation) go on to try a vegan diet during the month and of those, the organisers say, 60% remain vegan.

2019 is predicted to be the year plant based goes mainstream.  Certainly it continues to fuel new retailer own label ranges, with Marks & Spencer’s Plant Kitchen now coming on stream with a range of 60 plant based meals, snacks and salads.  Many believe convenience is the key to getting consumers to switch or eat vegan food more often.

Unilever recently announced the purchase of Dutch business The Vegetarian Butcher and high street bakery chain Greggs famous for its no frills sausage rolls have made the news with the launch of a vegan Quorn filled version to the delight of some and dismay of others.

And if 2018 was the year of meat free burgers perhaps 2019 will be the year of fish free: Waitrose have launched fish less fingers and a number of tuna substitutes are now vying for the attention of retailers and foodservice operators.