Vegan Industry Insights

Welcome to April’s edition of Vegan Industry News by the Vegan Trademark. There’s been lots of exciting news this month as we spring into the second quarter of the year, especially within the vegan food industry. Keep reading to find out more.

Record low meat consumption in Germany

Some good news came from Germany’s Federal Information Centre for Agriculture this month when they revealed that meat consumption in the country decreased in 2022.

Per capita meat consumption in Germany fell by around 4.2kg to 52kg per person in 2022 compared to 2021, which is the lowest level since calculations began in 1989.

This follows the trend of vegan diets increasing across Europe, with sales of plant-based foods in Europe growing 6% in 2022 (22% since 2020) to reach €5.7 billion. Germany represents the highest plant-based food sales value in Europe, and the Netherlands has the highest average plant-based food spend per capita.

United States sees record sales of vegan food

Retail sales of plant-based foods in the US reached a record $8 billion in 2022, according to a new report .

The plant-based food segment grew by 27.9% between 2019 and 2020 and has maintained a steady compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13%.

The most popular categories came in the vegan dairy alternatives. Plant-based milk is the category seeing the most growth, with a growth rate of 8.5% in 2022. It comes with the fantastic news that 15% of all milk currently sold in the US is vegan – which we hope to continue to see rise in the coming years.

Vegan eggs registered a 14% growth in dollar sales to $45 million, with unit sales up by 21%.

American vegan product consumers are diverse, with over 70% of Americans buying these products strongly motivated by health and environmental reasons, creating plenty of opportunities for vegan brands to take advantage of the growing US market.

Gen Z consumers motivated by health

It is important for companies that make vegan products to ensure they understand the motivations behind their consumer’s choices to help promote their brand and identify opportunities in the market. Whilst there are many reasons people choose to live a vegan lifestyle, many consumers choose to remove animal products from their diets to improve their health.

A recent survey on Gen Z by the Medical Inspiration Daily For Stronger Society (MIDSS) found that:

• ?A whopping 52.1% were incentivised to go vegan for health reasons.
• ?Environmental benefits were the second highest factor (17.1%) followed by ‘not wanting to eat animal products’ (16.9%), and family factors (10.7%).
• ?37.17% admitted the biggest challenge they faced since going vegan is dealing with meat cravings – so, vegan meat alternative brands, now is your opportunity to show how tasty eating vegan food can be!

It’s not just the younger generation that are seeing the health benefits to veganism. Another report released this month has shown that those of postmenopausal age are also shown to receive specific health benefits from vegan diets. Research by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine found that those following a low fat vegan diet found a 92% decrease in severe hot flushes.

The Vegan Society’s website has lots of resources on the motivations behind switching to a vegan lifestyle, take a look to get an insight into your consumers!

Vegan Trademark holder highlights

Our Vegan Trademark holders are doing some exciting things, here’s just some of the things they’re achieving that are making the news this month:

• Congratulations to Irish brand Nuna?a, who have won the 'Green & Organic' category award at the Cosmoprof Awards 2023, beating 690 international brands. Nuna?a's Ground & Glow Skin Ritual Set, made from mycelium technology and certified with the Vegan Trademark, was recognised for its vision of high-performance, regenerative skincare and innovative regenerative business model.
• We are happy to welcome the innovative brand VFC as a Vegan Trademark holder. Their Vegan Fried Chick*n has now been certified so consumers can look out for our iconic logo and be sure they meet our high standards!
• The Vegan Trademark certified Crackd The No-Egg Egg, has become Carbon Neutral ! The brand has achieved this status by ensuring that its carbon footprint has been measured, reduced, and offset through verified carbon offset projects. The company has offset its carbon emissions through a clean drinking water project in Eritrea, Africa, and aims to become more sustainable, following the launch of their 100% recyclable bottles.
• The third-largest meat-free brand Richmond enters the vegan snacking market with new Meat-Free Minis.

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Make sure you are subscribed to keep up to date with the latest vegan news! Want to make sure your vegan products are accessible to consumers? Shout about your credentials with confidence with the Vegan Trademark. Visit https://www.vegansociety.com/the-vegan-trademark for more information.