Taste for meat, dairy-free Veganuary increasing

“Veganuary” has become the latest trend for those looking to detox this month as British supermarkets have revealed a big increase in demand for meat- and dairy-free food.

The number of people committing to eat a vegan diet this month has risen from 1500 in 2014 to 52000 in 2018, making the UK the biggest market in the world for the challenge, followed by the US.

Waitrose reported a five-fold increase in searches for vegan food on their website in the days running up to New Year, and other stores looking at investing in vegan ranges.

Sainsbury’s have announced a new range to be released this month. (Jan), and Aldi has also released new lines describing the decision as ““More of what you want!“

Stars, including Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, actor Woody Harrelson and pop singers Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus, are among many famous vegans as the lifestyle choice becomes increasingly popular.

The Veganuary campaign, promoted by an international charity of the same name and which has seen 120000 people around the world commit to go vegan, comes after the success of Dry January, a public health campaign prompting people to stop drinking for a month.

Scott McCulloch, co-founder of The Vegan Kind, the biggest vegan supermarket in the UK, said in the four years since they had opened, there had not been a month that did not surpass the last in terms of sales, but December had been “literally astronomical”.

He said concerns over health, the planet and cruelty to animals were at the forefront of people’s minds, fuelled by a number of popular documentaries on the topic.

Many restaurants and even big-name pizza companies now have a vegan option on the menu, so people did not need to change their lifestyle to give up meat and dairy, McCulloch said. According to the Vegan Society there are now 542000 vegans in the UK, more than three times as many as a decade ago. Almost half are aged between 15 and 34. – The Telegraph