Solutions supporting Veganuary

How are innovators helping to make plant-based products more appealing and accessible than ever?

What is Veganuary?

Set up back in 2014 by Jane Land , a former teacher turned animal campaigner, and Matthew Glover , a businessman and animal rights activist, Veganuary is an annual event that challenges consumers to forego animal products in favour of plant-based alternatives for the month of January. That means no meat, fish, eggs, or dairy for 31 days. According to Veganuary – which is a non-profit organisation – its mission “is to inspire and support people to try vegan, drive corporate change and create a global mass movement championing compassionate food choices with the aim of ending animal farming, protecting the planet and improving human health.”

To officially take part, participants sign up on the Veganuary website and receive daily supportive emails, vegan recipes, a celebrity cookbook with more plant-based ideas, and helpful nutrition guides. With this support and these starting resources, the hope is that consumers will continue to embrace a more plant-based lifestyle beyond the month of January, even if they don’t make the full, permanent switch to veganism.

The rise of plant-based lifestyles

Since its creation, the awareness of ‘Veganuary’ has skyrocketed – with 75 per cent of Brits having heard of the campaign, even if they don’t get involved every New Year. Last year, the 10-year anniversary of Veganuary, it’s estimated that 25 million people around the world got involved and chose to try living a more plant-based lifestyle for the month of January, including 300 organisations who took part in the Veganuary Workplace Challenge.

But veganism has become much more than a trend to post about on social media every January. In Great Britain, for instance, it’s estimated that 2.5 million people now eat a vegan diet, and there are around two million more who plan to make the switch in future. And in the US, vegans now make up between one and four per cent of the population. As a result, brands are working to meet the growing demand for plant-based produce, with big names like KFC, Subway, Lidl, and Hellman’s broadening their vegan offerings in recent years.

The vegan market

Despite an initial spike and the growing popularity of vegetarianism and veganism – whether consumers are making the switch for ethical, environmental, or health reasons – the plant-based market has faced difficulties in recent years. Producer of meat replacements Meatless Farm, for instance, faced bankruptcy and had to make most of its staff redundant back in 2023 before it was acquired by VFC. Likewise, last February, Californian creator of plant-based shrimp New Wave Foods had to cease operations, with London-based vegan meal kit producer Allplants entering administration at the end of the year as well.

There are various explanations for the decline in the plant-based market – namely growing economic pressure, which is forcing many consumers to favour cheaper food options over the more sustainable or ethical alternatives. It’s also thought that growing production costs, along with a decline in the ‘novelty’ of veganism, have caused plant-based startups to struggle in recent years.

Plant-based companies may have their work cut out for them to shift the market strongly back in their favour, but confidence remains in the plant-based revolution. For example, UK-based THIS? , another producer of meat replacements, closed a €23.6 million series C equity funding round just last June. Vegan and vegetarian diets remain popular, as Veganuary figures show, and embracing more plant-based lifestyles will likely become more of a necessity as nations work to slash the carbon footprint of their food systems.

The question is: how do innovators make sure their solutions stick? In a highly competitive market, simply coming up with a new vegan meat isn’t enough, innovators must come up with ways that make their products stand out, whether that means making them cheaper, healthier, or more convenient and accessible. Here are some solutionists doing just that.

If you want some more plant-based inspiration, take a look at how innovation is making Veganuary easier.

The top Veganuary innovations

More efficient plant protein production

Plant-based meat alternatives face high production costs, which often makes the products too expensive for consumers to buy regularly. To overcome this, US company foodtech Rebellyous Foods , developed a patented technology to clean up the manufacturing processes, reducing inefficiencies and manual processes and replacing them with smart automation systems that run continuously. Once at industrial scale levels of production, Rebellyous Foods’ manufacturing technology could produce enough plant-based chicken to make products competitive with animal meat versions. Read more

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Redefining dairy for sustainable ‘pink gold’ proteins

An important?ingredient that makes cow’s milk and dietary supplements good for the body is the lactoferrin protein, which is often called “pink gold” because of its value and scarcity. Seeking high-quality milk without the environmental side effects, TurtleTree co-founders created a vegan, precision-fermented version of the lactoferrin protein – called LF+. Using large fermentation tanks, TurtleTree replicates the structure of the cow DNA that produces lactoferrin and adds it to yeast cells. Structurally and functionally identical to the protein made naturally in cow’s milk, LF+ has the benefit of being far less expensive to produce and therefore less expensive for brands to use in their products. Read more

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AI simulations boost alt-protein production

For early-stage alternative protein producers, it’s extremely difficult to manage high production costs while attempting to scale. Now, New Wave Biotech has created an AI-powered simulation platform that helps biomanufacturers make better decisions, enabling them to accelerate productive R&D and boost sales faster. With the help of machine learning, users can model the impact of different processes, examining the impact on output, cost, purity, and sustainability before making a final decision. Read more

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Producing alternative fats with fermentation

Plant-based products often lack the juicy and satisfying fats that consumers find so appealing – but San Francisco-based biotech startup Yali Bio wants to change that. Using precision fermentation, where modified microbes are placed in bioreactors and fed different sugars, Yali Bio efficiently produces fat molecules that are very similar to those from animal products. This means better-tasting milk, butter, and cheese at a fraction of the carbon and resource cost. Read more

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Extracting umami from plant-based by-products

People are often put off by a vegan diet for its lack of umami: one of the core tastes that usually corresponds with meaty flavours.?This is why the Finnish food technology startup The Nordic Umami Company has developed sustainable umami flavours from circular plant ingredients that would otherwise be wasted, hoping to speed the transition to a fully sustainable food system. The company’s umami products include bouillons, sauces, and salts. Read more

If you want to discover even more positive-impact innovations from the plant-based world and beyond, why not have a browse of the Springwise Innovation Database?