Tesco has announced the ‘return of the plant-based’ shopper, saying consumers are buying more meat-free items again.
According to a report by the supermarket, people are making a ‘move into scratch cooking’, which it says ‘follows a slight dip last year’ of plant-based products.
Describing vegan food as the ‘biggest food trend this century’, the retailer announced that ‘dabblers and the merely curious’ have dropped off, as plant-based cooking moves into its ‘second phase’.
According to the report, over the last three months, it has seen an increase of 100 per cent in the sales of fish alternatives, 20 per cent in tofu, tempeh, plant-based steaks and chicken breasts, and 10 per cent increase in the sales of meat-free burgers.It cited the launch of Juicy Marbles’ vegan steak as one of its success stories of the year, saying it sold an ‘unprecedented’ 100,000 meat-free steaks for the occasion.
Meat-free trend
In a statement, Tesco Plant-Based Food Buyer Cate May said: “Plant-based food has been the biggest culinary trend so far this century and attracted interest from vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike who were curious as to what the fuss was all about.’She added that this level of interest ‘was inevitably going to drop off slightly’ but that now we are seeing ‘phase two of that revolution with flexitarians now wanting to take more control over what they eat’, and continue to consume less meat.
Cate continued: “These latest sales figures show they’re doing that by cooking from scratch. Customers are starting to understand the versatility of plant-based ingredients and whole cuts, and are creating a wide variety of meals such as tofu stir-fries, meat-free curries using chicken alternatives or beans and pulses, and classic steak and chips using plant-based steaks.”
“Awareness is also starting to increase around the health benefits of making some simple swaps in their diet, for example, to reduce saturated fat whilst maintaining strong levels of protein by increasing the amount of plants and plant-based foods in their diets and then supplementing with more fresh veg.”
More vegetables
As well as having an impact on the number of meat alternatives sold, flexitarianism is affecting the number of vegetables sold, the retailer said.Describing Brits as ‘a nation of veg lovers’, the report revealed that almost half (46 per cent) of people consume more vegetables now than five years ago.According to the retailers, this is because almost half (47 per cent) have ‘deliberately introduced more vegetables to their plates, with 82 per cent doing so as they are ‘trying to be healthier’.
Meanwhile, 22 per cent buy more vegetables to save money on their shopping, and 25 per cent wanting to reduce their impact on the planet.
The report concluded: “Even the roast dinner has changed with nearly half (48 per cent) saying their roast dinner involves more veg now and 60 per cent saying they serve three or more different types of vegetables with their Sunday roast, or equivalent family meal.”
Original source: https://www.veganfoodandliving.com
https://www.animalagricultureclimatechange.org/uk-eating-less-meat/
