Consumer concern about processed foods, and the desire for natural produce has led to consumers adding more fruit and vegetables to their diet. Lactose has also received negative press, linked with digestive issues. This makes clean label vegan foods attractive to health-conscious consumers; observes GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
GlobalData research from the first quarter of 2017, has found that 3% of the British population now describe themselves as vegan, compared with 0.8% in 2014. In the US the difference is even bigger: 5.5% of Americans now claim to eat vegan, compared with 1% in 2014.
GlobalData consumer analyst, Ronan Stafford comments “The rising number of vegans and how fashionable the cuisine now seems to be, big companies are taking notice; the number of vegan options will increase in both supermarkets and restaurants”.
The ability to check menus online makes it easy to find vegan-friendly restaurants. Online grocery shopping means vegans can find the right products without having to spend hours lost in supermarkets checking every label.
2017 has seen some landmark vegan products launched by major brands: McDonalds released a vegan burger, Pizza Hut launched a vegan pizza, and Asda began stocking vegan mince pies.
Ingredient – box delivery services such as Hello Fresh and Gousto are making it easier to cook impressive vegan meals at home, by delivering vegan friendly ingredients to subscribers’ doors.
“These trends will combine to make 2018 the best year yet, in which to follow a vegan diet”, concludes Stafford.
HalalFocus comment: Though these vegan products will help increase alternatives for the Halal diet, consumers still have to look out for alcohol in foods that may be labelled ‘vegetarian’ or ‘vegan’ as it is acceptable in these diets.
