The phenomenon is not confined to food. Dr Martens boots is proving a hit with eco-conscious teenagers. Suddenly, there are vegan sofas, vegan face cream, things that you didn’t realise weren’t vegan in the first place.
RICHARD GODWIN: ‘Even as it was unfolding in the first cold days of Veganuary 2019, the launch of the Greggs vegan sausage roll felt like something marketing experts and cultural commentators would be pulling apart for years to come. Who knows: future historians may yet see it as a key turning point in the lead-up to the second English civil war (2020-27).
What is certain is that it was good for Greggs: its profits leapt more than 50%, to £40.6m, in the first six months of 2019… The vegan sausage roll is now one of Greggs’ five bestsellers, but sales of all of its ranges have increased to the point that Whiteside was able to distribute a £35m special dividend to shareholders in July. The company is looking into vegan versions of its other bestsellers… One way of looking at this is that veganism is great for business. Another is that vegan sausage rolls are a great marketing tool for pork sausage rolls.
Greggs is emblematic of the “vegan halo” effect, by which companies that have embraced veganism have reaped the rewards. In May, the “fast-casual” chain Leon reported that its sales for 2018 were up 24.5% to £95m… Papa John’s, the pizza chain, has also seen a boost from its vegan “sheese” range, which launched in January. “When we launched the hotdog pizza in meat and vegan versions [in May], for the first three weeks the vegan version outsold the meat version,” says Giles Codd, the company’s UK marketing director…
The phenomenon is not confined to food. Dr Martens boots have strolled in and out of fashion many times in the past few decades, but the brand is proving a hit with eco-conscious teenagers and celebrities… Suddenly, you can’t move for vegan sofas, vegan face cream, vegan things that you didn’t realise weren’t vegan in the first place…
In some ways, the clamour doesn’t make a lot of sense, given that only about 1% of Britons are vegan, according to the Vegan Society. The owner of one food company complained that, not so long ago, he invested lots of time and money to develop gluten-free versions of his products – then people stopped buying them. He is working on vegan versions, but is mindful that the trend may not stick around for ever.
But most people I speak to seem convinced that this is only the beginning. While veganism was previously associated primarily with animal welfare, now there are other compelling reasons to consider: health, climate, annoying Piers Morgan. For many, it is something to aspire to, as opposed to an all-or-nothing proposition’. SOURCE…
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