Vegan Food Sales up by 1,500% in Past Year

Vegan food sales are up by a whopping 1,500% in the past year in the UK, according to new figures released to coincide with World Vegan Day.

The London Economic reports more than half a million people in the UK now say they follow the vegan lifestyle, which is up by 261% in the last ten years, and a third of the population identifies as ‘flexitarian’, which simply means they are cutting down on their meat consumption.

There is a lot of people switching to plant-based alternatives to dairy products, with sales of Alpro Unsweetened Almond Milk up by 2,343% since 2015 – the equivalent of over 265k litres or around 3,300 baths full of this nut based alternative to cow’s or goat’s milk!

Vegetarian meat alternatives are also up by thousands of percentage points, as is sales of snacks such as Smoked Tofu and Cauldron Falafel. In the run-up to Christmas treats such as Alpro Vanilla Soya Custard (+1,142%) , Rakusen’s Non-Dairy Chocolate Digestives (+1,643%) and Booja Booja Hunky Punky Chocolate Ice Cream (+2,756%) are also on the way up.

Jacques Thudichum, Buying Manager – Chilled Prepared Foods at Ocado, says: "Consumer appetite for vegan-friendly foods in the UK is showing no sign of slowing down, as ‘flexitarianism’ emerges as the key trend of the moment. We’ve listened to our customers and have hugely expanded our vegan selection this year, adding new and exciting products each week to become one of our strongest categories.

"Whatever the lifestyle – whether fully embracing veganism or just looking to make some simple swaps – Ocado is committed to making these products as accessible as possible."

Increased vegan food sales is excellent news - and over the next five years veganism is predicated to continue exploding in popularity, making it easier than ever for people to ditch the meat and switch to a vegan lifestyle.