Quorn Foods have set to become a billion dollar business by 2027, following a £200 million turnover in 2017 and a growth rate of 16 per cent. 2017 was the company’s biggest growth year as the number of people leading flexitarian and vegan lifestyles has risen drastically.
In July 2017 Quorn foods invested £150 million into their Billingham factory to cover the expansion of the company’s main manufacturing facilities, which will make it the largest of its kind around the world.
Quorn have also worked with Veolia, investing £2 million in efforts to reduce their carbon emissions with a combined-heat-and-power plant, which has reduced their CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) savings by 2,000 tonnes per year.
Investments into their international expansion have also resulted in growth of 27 per cent, with the US being Quorn’s biggest export market. Growth in the grocery sector accelerated to 35 per cent in 2017.
CEO Kevin Brannan said: “Around the world we are seeing a significant increase in meat-reduction diets, including both flexitarianism and veganism. The vegan trend is something that Quorn Foods is responding to with the launch of more and more vegan products such as Quorn Vegan Chicken-free Slices, Quorn Vegan Hot and Spicy Burger, and Quorn Vegan Fishless Fingers.
“I am extremely proud of our growth, the quality of our food that underpins that growth and the contribution we are making to the local area. At Quorn Foods we continue to take a long term view and we plan to invest heavily into the meat-free category and maintain double-digit growth rates.”
The vegan products market continues to grow year-on-year, and with the number of people who went vegan for January surpassing 150,000, the movement isn’t expected to slow down throughout the rest of the year.