20 Aug Not just for Vegans…
Finding good plant-based alternative products has never been so easy as it is today. Supermarkets and well-stocked corner shops are expanding their vegan supplies to meet the growing demand. According to a new report from Bloomberg Intelligence, global retail sales of plant-based food alternatives may reach $162 billion by 2030 — that’s up from $29.4 billion in 2020. The question is: who doesn’t know a vegetarian, vegan or flexitarian these days?
We were intrigued to find out which plant-based products were most popular among UK consumers, so we ran a poll to ask just that. Dairy alternatives scored the top spot with over half of the votes (54%). Oatly’s Oat Milk has cornered the market with a huge surge in demand recently, but there are plenty of exciting alternatives out there all worthy of a mention – from Alpro’s My Cuppa Soya to Koko’s Dairy Free Original coconut milk and MOMA’s Original Oat Milk, there’s more options than ever.
Plant-based sausages aren’t just a flash in the pan, landing in second place with 33% of the votes. And with products like Heck Vegan Breakfast Plant Based Sausages, Cauldron’s Vegetarian Cumberland Sausages and Meatless Farm Meat Free Sausages, we’re not surprised they drew in so many of the votes. Gone are the days of cardboard-textured veggie sausages at rainy bbqs because the nouveau plant-based alternatives are bringing all the sunshine we need.
Meat-free burgers, tofu and seitan all drew in the rest of the votes. And we’ve seen impressive new product launches across all three product areas. Los Angeles based vegan burger brand Beyond Meat is widely considered among vegans to be one of the best meat-free burger producers out there and the good news is they’ve reached the UK. The Cookout Classic burger is one worth trying. Earlier this year, British company The Tofoo Co has launched the UK’s first frozen tofu product. Known as Tofoo Chunkies, the company says it’s designed to make tofu more accessible. But it’s Naked Extra Firm Organic Tofu that has become a mainstay on the supermarket shelves over recent years.
Product of the Year has been no stranger to the plant-based movement with previous winners including: Birds Eye Green Cuisine Chicken Free Dippers, Richmond Meat Free Sausages and Asda Dairy Free Sunflower Spread, to name a few. And with time nearly (but not quite) running out to enter the next awards, we can’t wait to see what comes through the door. You can enter your products – plant-based or other – here.
Viva la vegans and veggies!
Photo by Fuzzy Rescue from Pexels