Young people are certainly the driving force behind the rise in veganism.

Young people are certainly the driving force behind the rise in veganism.
© Shutterstock

Health, environmental and animal welfare concerns propel veganism

The popularity of veganism continues to draw new consumers to try out a plant-based diet.

With manufacturers increasing their efforts to create meat-mimicking products and dairy alternatives, the popularity of veganism grows.

Veganuary is an annual campaign, taking place worldwide throughout January, in which people eat a vegan diet for the whole month. In 2022, a record number of people took part, with over 629,000 people signing up from 228 countries and territories.

Over four-fifths (88%) of food industry practitioners expect the demand for plant-based products to increase, public health and safety organisation NSF found in its global survey. Almost three-quarters of respondents (74%) said they believed consumers choose plant-based for a healthier lifestyle and 60% of those asked think it is to be more environmentally friendly.

A national perspective: veganism in the UK

Falstaff spoke to charity The Vegan Society in the UK, hailed as the oldest vegan organisation in the world, to learn about the rise of veganism in the country.

YouGov estimates around 79 million people are opting for a vegan diet globally, the charity says. The Vegan Society’s latest UK data gathered in 2019 showed there were approximately 600,000 vegans in Great Britain, which amounts to around 1% of the population. The pandemic is the main reason the charity has been unable to carry out more recent comprehensive research as the data included face-to-face interviews and a sample size of 10,000, it says.

In April 2022, Meatless Farm and Brakes’ consumer research revealed that 39% of British consumers want restaurants to offer more vegan food. A total of 259 new vegan menus were added to chain restaurants for Veganuary 2021, The Vegan Society reveals. As of October 2021, Wagamama’s menu, for example, is now 50% plant-based, the charity adds.

“Young people are certainly the driving force behind the rise in veganism, which is great on many levels,” says Cat Thompson, Media and PR Officer at The Vegan Society. Research that the society undertook in 2019 showed that half of all vegans were in the 15-34 age category.

Commenting on the impact of these results, Thompson adds: “This shows that the next generations are increasingly making kinder food and lifestyle choices, and the future is looking very bright for veganism as there are more people who are an inspiration for others of how you can live a lifetime as a happy vegan.”

In terms of the prevalence of veganism during Covid-19, nearly a quarter of people have been cutting back on animal products since the start of the pandemic, The Vegan Society has found. Further, its latest research from March 2022 discovered that 17% of British consumers have actively reduced the amount of meat they are consuming, while 8% have cut back on dairy and/or eggs.

When comparing this to the charity’s Changing Diets During the Covid-19 Pandemic report from the same time last year, Thompson states: “It shows that the number of shoppers cutting back on animal products has remained steady since the pandemic started”. The uptake of veganism was also prevalent in its initial Covid-19 survey, which took place in April 2020, indicating that one in five had cut down on meat consumption.

Leading trends influencing veganism

According to a 2020 study by MarketsandMarkets, the plant-based meat market will be worth $15.7 billion (€15.4 bn) by 2027. A Bloomberg report says large food and beverage manufactures, restaurants and chains like Kellogg´s, Nestlé and Starbucks are selling products from leading brands in the alternatives space, such as Oatly, Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. In doing so, they help to drive interest in plant-based products.

“Burger King has products registered with The Vegan Society and is continuing to engage with the vegan conversation, while Wagamama now has half of its menu registered with us,” comments Thompson.

The report also states that while Covid slowed down progress as menus pared back products, burgers and sausages remained prevalent across plant-based menus. At the same time, faux chicken is expected to see a rise in popularity, Thompson continues.

The pandemic, Brexit and the cost-of-living crisis have all been identified as having a considerable impact on consumers’ shopping habits.  However, the top three reasons respondents to The Vegan Society’s Changing Diets report gave for cutting back on animal products were health concerns (36%), environmental reasons (28%) and animal rights issues (20%). Further, 12% said the cost of animal products motivated them to cut back.

According to the Good Food Institute, the vegan seafood market has also increased significantly in the US, and this trend is expected to continue.

Maximising appeal

With many consumers opting to try veganism or implement a vegan diet, food and beverage manufacturers are launching new product development (NPD) in the vegan space. 

“Again, it seems fast food or mainstream restaurant chains are a key driver in introducing people to vegan food and increasing demand for similar plant-based alternatives from supermarkets,” says Thompson.

Many people are also turning to flexitarianism due to climate change concerns. “While we do not condone the use or consumption of animal products, flexitarianism is among the drivers for plant-based demand and helping veganism become more accessible,” Thompson states. For example, most Quorn customers are meat reducers, proving a huge market potential for companies offering vegan alternatives, she explains.

In January 2022, vegan food sales at Aldi were 500% higher than in the same period the year before, The Grocer reported.  And that followed a 250% increase from 2020 to 2021. Sales are set to increase further throughout 2022, as the vegan range expanded for Veganuary by 50% to answer consumer demand.

Sharing these insights, Thompson suggests that “people are perhaps more comfortable being introduced to vegan diets via the extensive like-for-like meat and dairy alternatives”. She goes on to conclude, “The Vegan Society expects more companies to be created in the future to meet this demand not just from vegans but also from those wanting to eat fewer animal products as the vegan market grows in size over the years.”

With many consumers opting to try veganism, food and beverage manufacturers are launching new products.
© Shutterstock
With many consumers opting to try veganism, food and beverage manufacturers are launching new products.
Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe
Natasha Spencer-Jolliffe
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