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Covid accelerates interest in plant-based foods
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Frozen food distributor Central Foods is highlighting the importance of including vegan and vegetarian options on fast food menus.
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emand for meat-free menu options has been growing for some time, but as we ease out of lockdown, all the indications suggest that interest in plant-based food has increased as a result of the pandemic.
Gordon Lauder, MD of frozen food distributor Central
Foods, said: “A survey by The Vegan Society earlier this year found that 20% of people had reduced the amount of meat they were eating over the previous 12 months, while 12% had minimised their egg and dairy intake, which means that a quarter of all British people have cut back on some form of animal product since the first lockdown. “We’re seeing more and more evidence that the interest in, and demand for, great-tasting vegan products is increasing all the time, whether it is for health, environmental or sustainability reasons. “While the number of vegans and vegetarians has been rising, the largest and fastest-growing group of plantbased consumers consists of flexitarians and reducers, who are aiming to cut their consumption of meat, dairy and animal products. As Barclay’s Alternative Meat Market Report estimates, 92% of plant-based meals in the UK are actually consumed by the UK’s estimated 22 million flexitarians – that’s one in three of the total population*.” More than 25% of the Central Foods product range is now vegan and this has been fuelled by the astonishing growth in demand for plant-based products right across the board, from all sectors of the food service industry, including the fast-food sector. “During the pandemic and the resulting lockdowns, we 16
Fastfood Professional • August and September 2021
August and September 2021 • Fastfood Professional
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