Vegan Trends – Looking ahead to 2021

2021 will be my eighteenth vegan year and thirty fourth year without meat and during those years there have been so many dramatic changes particularly in the last three to four years where we have witnessed a constant flow of innovation across most of the major categories. Looking onwards to 2021, here are my top trends for what I feel (both as a vegan consumer and vegan business owner) will hopefully come next:

Growth growth and more growth. Let’s just have a look at some of the amazing things that have been happening in the market that show us growth seems to be here to stay:

• Veganuary is already set for its biggest year of sign ups (250k already for Jan 2021) and having recently passed the millionth total sign up, they are playing a pivotal part in helping people transition to the vegan way of life.
• One in four customers are choosing a more flexitarian diet and 86% of plant-based meals are eaten by non-vegans according to Kantar Jan 2020 data.
• Health Food Business Magazine reported earlier on in the year that 16m Brits are eating more vegan and vegetarian meals than ever before.
• Plant based foods outpaced total food sales during COVID-19 19 in the USA according to the Plant Based Foods Association and in the UK According to Kantar research, sales of meat-alternatives shot up by 18.4% during lockdown, as more consumers become more aware of what plant based diets can do for health, animal welfare and the environment.
• Veganz have also reported that the numbers of vegans in Germany (the most populated vegan country) have doubled between 2016-2020 from 1.3m to 2.6m consumers.
• Recent research conducted by FMCG Gurus has found that 29% of global consumers currently eat plant meat products and 41% already consume dairy alternatives. The research also found that an impressive 51% of regular meat-eaters are planning to either reduce or eliminate meat from their diet in the next year.
• 20% of us to cook a fully vegan Christmas dinner this year according to Plant Based News.

With more vegan product launches, more press coverage, more influencers, more documentaries, and more buzz than ever, you can safely say the growth looks set to continue into 2021 and beyond.

Source: The Economist

Source: Plant Based Foods Association

Convenience hopefully catching up. The Supermarkets have really upped their game of late, not only with new launches from a branded point of view, but they have all invested heavily in new private label ranges that have extended far past the staple purchases into fantastic desserts, complete meal options and full Christmas ranges. According to a recent study conducted by The Garden of Life, Tesco had the largest range of products for vegans (with 76 own label vegan products on offer). Tesco also recently were awarded the best vegan food range in the Peta Food Awards. Meanwhile Marks and Spencer’s Plant Kitchen range claims they are the number one private label vegan brand with 18.5% market share. Tesco have also made the bold objective to increase plant based meat sales by 300% by 2025 according to Vegan Food and Living. Throughout the summer, we saw some amazing new private label vegan products from Waitrose themed around outdoor eating, picnics, BBQs and ready meals. Meanwhile Asda took a bold move of dedicating a vegan specific fixture to group the main plant-based players together, whilst Morrison’s continued to extend their V-taste range and Sainsburys their Plant Pioneer range. Even Iceland increased their vegan options in store and the Aldi and Lidl vegan ranges are becoming popular with the vegan community. We are however yet to see the convenience sector attack the market with the same energy. Co-op appears to be leading with its GRO private label brand but on the whole, when you are shopping in most convenience stores, the range for vegan consumers isn’t great and I think 2021 should be the year to put that right and fill that noticeable gap. 

Source: Garden of life

Source: Co-op Food

Foodservice set to continue its greener journey. It has been great reading about the increasing number of hospitals, schools, colleges and universities that are now offering a decent amount of vegan meal options. Plant Based News reported earlier this year that schools in Scotland were looking at increasing their vegan meal options. Meanwhile in November, students at Oxford University voted to ban beef and lamb from the university menus to help fight climate change. The same trends have been seen across the restaurant trade with most of the major chains extending their vegan menu options. As McDonalds get ready to introduce their Mc Plant burger you can pretty much say that this new nationwide availability will help boost plant-based eating across the UK.

Source: McDonalds

Partners turning vegan in the name of love. There are now more vegan celebrity couples than ever before and more couples sharing their vegan ways on Instagram. I am hearing more and more stories of people turning vegan for their partners just through my friends and family too. I have also had first-hand experience of this myself as my partner Tony (carnivorous for 60 years) has been vegan since watching The Gamechangers in November 2019. I have to say it makes shopping, eating out and mealtimes so much easier! 85% of vegans in a recent study were female according to the 2019 Big Vegan Study. The new vegan hotels and restaurants opening up all over the UK should give this a helping hand and I do think 2021 be the year of more men turning vegan either for themselves, the planet, the animals, their health or to catch the eye of their new vegan girl crush!

Source: Vegan News

Designers catching up. It has been fantastic to see so many of the high street retailers launching vegan lines – we have seen lovely bags in Accessorize all certified by the Vegan Society, Superdry and Adidas have launched some really awesome vegan sneakers this year. New Look have increased their vegan clothing lines in store too. This has been great news for the high street but it would be great to see this same uptake from the top designers. Stella McCartney as ever continues to lead the way but other top brands Gucci, Prada, Dior, Chanel, Balenciaga etc are all massively flagging behind and hopefully 2021 will be the year when they offer some vegan lines to cover the needs of those discerning vegan consumers. 

Source: Stella McCartney

Source: Accessorize

More exploration with new materials. It’s been great seeing alternatives to leather – from mushrooms and apples, to bananas, pineapples and coconut, there have been a lot of new textiles making their way into our wardrobes. Recently we heard that Natalie Portman and John Legend have invested in a mushroom leather business. Cork is on the rise and I think we will see more from that sustainable source in 2021. H&M have just introduced hemp fibres into some of their clothing ranges too which is also set to have a big future as an alternative to wool in the coming years.

Source: The Cork Company

An end to vegan infighting. One of the saddest things is witnessing vegans fighting with vegans. You sometimes see this in forums online, at shows or in group meets and even in person. To me, this is madness when we are all fighting for the same dream and promoting the same cause. Yes, some people may make mistakes, they may accidentally buy something that has leather content – but they are learning, let them learn, they are trying to make the change and it takes a while to learn about all the ways of the vegan life. Some people may wish to eat at fast food chains that offer vegan options, whilst others prefer to avoid venues that don’t sell 100% vegan food. Some vegans don’t mind supporting big multinational corporations with their new launches, and others prefer to keep it local and support original vegan founded businesses. Nobody is right, nobody is wrong, nobody is perfect. Everyone is allowed to have their own views and options, but I just want people to remember that we all want the same thing – no harm to animals, a healthier planet and a healthier you. So, bear with people, let them learn, let them make mistakes, let them prefer products you may not like, let them vary with their purchase choices and where they opt to go out for meals. It’s not a popularity contest, it’s a community driven, values orientated family that everyone should enjoy being part of. We are shaping the world in the most amazing ways - we are paving the way for a more compassionate future. The future is most definitely vegan and 2021 will be playing a huge part in the next steps to making us a greener nation so let’s celebrate that and enjoy the journey minus the bickering.