New information from Mintel has found that the UK has toppled Germany from its top spot as the leading country for new vegan product releases.
Veganuary is part of the reason why there have been so many new product releases, with the 31-day pledge to veganism encouraging people to opt for plant-based food. The vegan market continues to grow year-on-year, and Mintel, the world’s leading market intelligence agency, has released information on this continue growth.
During 2018, one in six (16 per cent) of food products launched in the UK had a plant-based claim attached to them, which is double the amount from 8 per cent in 2015.
In contrast, Germany, the previous leading country for new vegan product releases, saw only 13 per cent of new food products classified as vegan, compared to 15 per cent in 2018.
Edward Bergen, global and drinks analyst at Mintel, said: “For a number of years, Germany led the world for launches of vegan products. However, 2018 saw the UK take the helm. Germany has certainly plateaued, likely driven by a flooded market with little room to grow further.
“The UK, by contrast, has seen a huge promotion of vegan choices in restaurants and supermarkets. The most poignant of these is the expansion of supermarket own-label options with dedicated vegan ranges in mainstream stores.”
He continued: “Initiatives like Veganuary and meat-less Monday allow consumers to flirt with veganism without the long-term commitment. As more people reduce their meat intake, the experiment with more plant-based dishes catering for their flexitarian lifestyles – whether at home, on-the-go, or in restaurants.”
In Europe, the overall amount of new vegan products almost doubled from 5 per cent in 2015 to 9 per cent in 2018.
These statistics reflect the rise in people reducing their meat consumption, with one in three (34 per cent), now following a flexitarian lifestyle, according to Mintel.
The increasing awareness of the realities of animal agriculture, both ethically and environmentally, have seen people decrease the amount of animal products in their lives – 31 per cent of British consumers have said that recent news articles have convinced them to give up meat.
The sales of dairy-free milk have grown by 9.4 per cent from £202 million in 2016 to £221 million in 2017, with predominant demographic buying non-dairy milk as those aged 25-34 during the three months to February 2018, where 9 per cent of Brits drank it.