Look beyond Veganuary for incremental year-long sales

With multiple reports indicating consistent rise in veganism in the country, store-owners should look beyond Veganuary to give shoppers a helping hand, right motivation and the exact product range they are looking for.

Britons are increasingly becoming flexitarians, vegetarians and vegans more than ever before while many more are willing to walk down this lane. A recent YouGov survey shows that one-third (34 per cent) of UK adults are either interested in trying or plan to try a vegan/plant-based diet while 8 per cent of UK adults are already on a vegan/plant-based diet. The survey also revealed that 35 per cent of Brits say their perceptions of a plant-based/vegan diet has changed for the better in the past two years and 36 per cent think eating a vegan/plant-based diet is an admirable thing to do. 

No wonder, plant-based category in UK is expected to be worth £998 million by 2026 – a staggering 74 per cent increase over the next four years, as per data released by Pilgrim’s Food Masters this week. The market is currently estimated to be at £598 million by Mintel.

Cotswold Fayre too saw searches for vegan products on its website increase by 35 per cent in 2021, when compared to the previous year.

Every year, the wave of veganism gets a major push by the annual Veganuary campaign. This week, the campaign has hit a new landmark when it declared that more than 600,000 people officially taking part in 2022, surpassing last year’s total of 580,000 participants. As sign-ups remain strong right through to the end of January, this number is expected to rise further. 

Reflecting on the 2022 campaign so far, Veganuary’s Head of Communications Toni Vernelli told Asian Trader, “It is incredibly exciting to be marking the biggest Veganuary on record with two weeks of January still to go, but it is not surprising. As more people become aware of the incredible impact our food choices have on the health of our planet, attitudes towards eating vegan are changing and so are our diets.” 

Veganism, anyway, has been on the rise for the past few years.

Kirtan Patel, owner of Londis in Finsbury Park, London, who has been stocking the complete vegan range in his store for many years now, says that there has been a paradigm shift in people’s preferences over the past three-four years.

“Generally, there has been a shift towards veganism in the last three to four years. The uptake spikes in January as more and more people want to try vegan foods,” Patel told Asian Trader, adding that not only in meat substitutes, a major uptake also happens in “fresh fruits and vegetables”.

As per market reports, it is flexitarians (43.7 per cent of UK shoppers) who are the driving force in this segment. They are open and keen to try more options in plant-based diets, maybe twice or thrice a week.

“I think what happens is a lot of shoppers are not actually complete. However, they decide that maybe two days a week or three days a week, they will cut down meat and eat vegan food instead,” Patel said.

What sells well

Until a few years ago, being vegan was not easy as finding basic alternatives such as soy milk or plant-based burger patties was a pain. 

Contrarily today, the market is filled with plant-based alternatives for meat, seafood, ready meals, cheese, nuggets, sausages, chocolates, doughnuts, frozen pizzas, ice creams and even gums- in almost every possible segment. Vegan junk food in particular, such as pizzas, burgers, kebabs, grilled and fried foods, is becoming increasingly mainstream and widely available with new launches happening almost every month.

The jewel in the crown in this segment is definitely dairy-free vegan milk. Veganism, along with allergy issues such as lactose intolerance, has forced about a third of Britons to use plant-based milk in 2021, up from a quarter in 2020, while spending on plant-based milk has reached £394 million.

Patel seems to resonate well with the market data when he said that oat milk from Oatly is undoubtedly the bestseller here. 

“Oatly oat milk is a top seller here, selling as much as normal milk does. Sometimes, even more!” 

Dairy-free alternative milk often implies oat milk though almond milks and potato milk are also touted as the next big thing in the vegan world.

“Sausages, burgers, and other things that people are used to having in meat and they now want to change- plant-based substitutes of those also sell well. And so does the vegan cheese range,” Patel said.

Cotswold Fayre cites its most popular vegan brands as Meatless Farm, White Rabbit and The Coconut Collaborative.

“These brands all represent products that can be used as simple swaps in an everyday diet like vegan sausages, pizza and yoghurt,” Natasha Marlow from Cotswold Fayre, told Asian Trader, adding that vegan condiments are also something to consider.

“Rubies in the Rubble make vegan friendly mayo using aquafaba, the wastewater from Chickpeas. This easy swap also helps fight the food waste battle and is great for dipping chips, spreading in sandwiches or making sauces.”

When it comes to brands, Bird’s Eye’s Green Cuisine range has a huge fan following though other brands are equally gaining loyalty. Also, since the shoppers are open to innovation here and want to try new tastes and brands as well, store-owners should make a point to stock a wider range and newer launches.

“Green Cuisine being a multinational firm, it’s stocked everywhere in the supermarkets, but what we see is that people want to try different products as well,” pointed out Patel.

Frys range and Moving Mountains are the new age brands which are among the bestselling items at Londis Finsbury store’s vegan segment.

“Frys has a whole range of products like burgers and nuggets. Moving Mountains, although being very expensive, has still been doing very well in our store,” informed the store owner.

Plant-based seafood is another niche segment which is exploding with offerings like vegan fish cakes, plant-based scampi, fish-free tuna, and vegan fish fingers.

Vegan confectioneries too, albeit joining late, are picking up fast.

Major chocolatiers are also embracing plant-based milk chocolates. So do gum-makers. UK’s leading speciality and fine food wholesaler Cotswold Fayre wants retailers to make space for this product range too.

“Confectionery is a growing vegan category so we suggest retailers provide a range of different options offering shoppers plenty of choice such as Doisy & Dam vegan dark chocolate, HiP milk chocolate from oat Milk, and Jealous Sweets,” Marlow said.

Merchandising tips

With research claiming that 94 per cent of people participating in Veganuary intend to cut back on meat and dairy beyond January, the long term prospects for meat and dairy alternatives look promising and clearly presents a huge opportunity for store-owners to make incremental sales and create a brand image for convenience store owners, most of whom are otherwise infamous for not stocking enough vegan ranges.

Plant-based items have been on grocery shelves for decades, but in the past they were limited to traditional foods like tofu. The evolution of choices—burgers, sausages, chicken, as well as total meal solutions—has greatly expanded shelf space for plant-based items.

If a shopper is new to the vegan diet, they may be comforted by familiar favourites with vegan twists like vegan burger patty or sausage. Try stocking vegan meat alternative brands that focus on imitating the flavours and textures of animal-based meat and easy grab-and-go options that offer a simple swap for the flexitarians. 

Makers often cite market studies to say that their plant-based meat alternatives should be placed in the meat section. However, when it comes to plant-based frozen food, Patel contradicts the claim by shedding light on buying behaviour.

The Londis-owner said that when it comes to frozen foods, vegans don’t like the plant-based foods getting in close proximity to meats.

“Vegans don’t like meat and vegan food to be mixed up. So what we’ve done in the chiller is we have given two metres to vegan foods, stocking all the kinds in that space. So we have plant-based sausages, burgers, pizzas, kebabs right next to a section of food to go, cheeses, desserts- all in that space,” he said.

Although housing the plant-based items separately from those containing animal products seems to be a better and much-organised way in the chiller, there isn’t a clear cut “right answer” about where to display this range. 

However, when it comes to the grocery and ambient side of the store, it is quite the opposite. So here vegan alternatives should be placed in the same section so that shoppers can find them easily. 

“What we have realised over the years after trying different placements and tactics is that people looking for vegan biscuits will not bother to go in the vegan aisle but will pick if it is right there in the ambient section,” Patel said.

Cotswold Fayre seconds Patel’s opinion here.

“Vegan confectionery is best displayed alongside its non-vegan counterpart, but for meal components, a separate dedicated section of the fridge works best. Here you can highlight convenience lines such as vegan pizzas from White Rabbit, alongside meat alternatives such sausages, mince or chicken style pieces from Meatless Farm or This!,” Marlow said.

Another great hack here is to go generous on signposting as shoppers often get confused about what is actually vegan and what is not, especially in the grocery and ambient side.

“A lot of customers, especially when they first start in January, are very confused as to what they can and cannot buy. So by putting shelf markers, or information to let customers know where the vegan products or rather what the vegan products are, is of great help,” Patel said, adding that putting a small label saying “I am vegan” is a simple yet very effective way to put across the correct message.

Strategy of shelving new launches next to the more traditional vegan versions bolster sales and consumer acceptance of other categories. 

Patel insisted that some shoppers, no matter how keen they are towards veganism, still need to be educated as to what they can and cannot have. 

The sales opportunity in January is significant, but adapting a vegan strategy throughout the year will be the real key to capitalise on this trend in the long term, thereby, resulting in good sales.