Veganuary 2021

TOP 5 TRENDS

By Louise Palmer Masterton

In the space of just one year to Nov 2020, Deliveroo reported a 115% increase in demand for plant-based meals. In my hometown of Cambridge, where Stem & Glory was the only vegan place in town in 2017, we now have five all-vegan outlets, including two vegan burger joints. All are busy, which is testament to the popularity of the movement. A movement that surely only those in denial about the unsustainability of animal consumption can ignore or pass off as a ‘fad’. With Veganuary upon us, it’s a good time to look back at the vegan trends of 2020, and to look ahead to 2021, which many people predict will be even more stratospheric in terms of growth. 2020 wasn't only the year of plantbased meat launches, it was also the year that all the major UK supermarkets introduced or expanded their own vegan ranges, and the year that, through sheer demand, all UK food outlets were compelled to have greater plantbased offerings. As a vegan person however, I do think there is a long way to go, both in terms of quality and quantity. I find myself walking out

of most mainstream shops empty handed, as I still cannot find what I am looking for. Which for reference is something healthy, super tasty and with attention to balanced nutrition. All too often a vegan offering is still just a bunch of vegan ingredients lumped together with not much thought, and no attention to flavour. With that in mind, I wonder how many of the plethora of plantbased meat products that are on the shelves now will still be there at the end of 2021? Early adopters of these products are no doubt already onto the next thing. So where is it we see new products starting to gain ground, and where do we see vegan products in the UK heading in 2021?

Vegan Seafood

Even more of an oxymoron that vegan meat, vegan seafood has become a fast-moving trend all over the world. I was in Amsterdam in the heady days of Feb 2020. We were on a food tour as part of the Global Restaurant Investment Forum and landed at a place called ‘Vegan Junk Food Bar’. Another oxymoron really, as although they do serve a lot of

vegan junk (also known as ‘dirty vegan’), it was there I had my first experience of vegan ‘sashimi’. ‘Vegan sashimi’, what sorcery is this?’ I hear you cry. The first thing to note is that it really really looks like raw fish. I admit I had very low expectations of the first piece I put in my mouth. These however were immediately dispelled. It was quite tasty, served with a sweet soy dip, and very moreish. I am not really a fan of plant-based meat, but I would eat this again. Which is a perfect segue to our next top vegan trend for 2021

Healthier Fake ‘Meat’

We have come a long way in terms of plant-based meat, cheese and seafood replacements, but let's face it, these are all processed, and do not contain the same nutritional profile as their animal counterparts. Take the vegan sashimi product for example. Raw fish is an extremely light and healthy product, high in protein and healthy fat, and very low in carbohydrates. The plant-

based counterpart has high starch content and is a completely refined and processed product. What we know about good health is that you need a diet high in natural protein and low in refined carbs, so this is a big challenge to plant-based alternatives. The wake-up call to this is already beginning to happen, and we predict that 2021 will be the year we start to see a trend in the direction of healthier and less processed animal alternatives. We believe all eyes will be moving

in this direction in 2021 and beyond.

Vegan Ready Meals

The supermarket shelves are choca-bloc with vegan products. Tesco has a plant-based meat section in the meat aisle, and Asda has a dedicated aisle planned for planthave

based. One gap however appears to be quality ready meals. Tesco has been ahead of the game here with their Wicked range, which has ready meals as well as products. But for me personally, having sampled the offerings from all the major supermarkets, I am not convinced by taste or quality.

Vegan Cheese

Vegan cheese is the absolute holy grail at the moment, and the race is on to be the first company that

creates a plant-based cheese that has the same taste and texture as dairy cheese. The noise in the plant-based cheese space is getting louder and louder with each passing week. Personally speaking, I feel there is a long way to go, BUT 2021 could see this start to change, as a few brands are now

on the verge of creating an authentic product with an engineered cow’s milk. I checked in on this subject with Reuben Waller from Plant Candi, a well-known vegan chef. He believes ‘the slow demise of the traditional dairy business will provide a marked contrast with the rise of products such as laboratory engineered cow’s milk, which will signal a seismic shift for the vegan cheese market’. This echoes our view too. Imagine if you could get the full variety of cheese that we

all been brought up on tasting exactly the same as the animal counterpart, but made 100% from plants. What a huge change would come. ‘Not being able to give up cheese’ is given as the number one reason for flexitarians not becoming vegan, so this would be a game changer for the vegan

movement. No wonder investors are rapidly diving into this space. An engineered dairy product would also take plant-based cheese back in a natural and unprocessed direction. As I am sure you are aware if you already eat vegan cheese, many have a nasty aftertaste, and all are highly processed.

Vegan Fashion

I am a lifelong customer of G-Star. It’s been extremely exciting to watch this brand develop over the years. Their range ‘Raw for the Oceans’ was making fashion from plastic pulled from the oceans long before the Blue Planet documentary. G-Star has a committed to 100% sustainable cotton, and they use a wide variety of recycled materials in their products. They are an excellent example of how a brand can use their sustainability agenda to grow their market share. Another great example of an old established brand being ahead of the curve is Dr Martens who boasted that profits were up 70% year-on-year to March 2019 largely due to the success of their new 'vegan' range. Vegan Dr Martens however, whilst being an excellent hard-wearing product, are made from synthetic and non-biodegradable material. So, whilst they tick the vegan box, their products are not yet sustainable. But innovation in sustainable vegan leather is happening. Michiel van Deursen from Capital V is one investor interested in the plant-based fashion space. ‘Leather is not sustainable at all, and since the alternative is often plastic, this has brought about a shift now towards plant based and biodegradable vegan ‘leather’. Michiel predicts massive growth in plant-based fashion and materials in the next few years, where demand is currently outgrowing production capacity. These are my top five trends to watch for 2021, but to finish I would just like to throw in one overarching trend which will underpin all others; sustainability. To date, plant-based has been labelled, by sole virtue of it being ‘made from plants’, as ‘sustainable’. Is something sustainable just because it is plant-based? We believe that 2021 will be the year that this comes fully under scrutiny. It isn't enough to be plant-based, tick the sustainability box and be off the hook. In 2021 sustainability will be the greatest trend of all, with consumers utilising their purchasing power in support of those with truly circular and authentic sustainable credentials.

Stem & Glory

Stem & Glory

Stem & Glory