Riding the Crest of the Vegan Wave

Riding the Crest of the

Our eating habits are constantly changing. Some things are suddenly flavour of the moment, and then fall out of favour almost as quickly. Think prawn cocktails. And fondues.

Other foodie fashions tend to come and stay the course. The British appetite for Indian and Chinese food for example. Burgers, Fish & Chips, Street Food...in fact, fast food in general. And, of course, the Pizza.

But no matter how popular these everyday food favourites have become, their steady advance to the top of our meal and menu choices is being spectacularly eclipsed by the meteoric rise in demand for plant-based food.

It seems only minutes ago that vegan food was considered by many as niche. Fringe. Faddy. Something worth a try but not always leading to a new way of life.

How things have changed! Plant-based eating is now the fastest growing food trend of the 21st century, leaving all other growth patterns firmly in its wake. As for why this phenomenon has suddenly burst into life...well, that’s down to a whole host of interlocking factors.

Healthy eating is a major contributor, with plant-based diets considered by many as the perfect complement to a healthier approach to living.

The environment plays an increasingly important role too. Growing numbers – particularly among 5 to 16 year olds, see plant-based eating as a critical factor in changing our approach to caring for the planet and reducing the impact other diets may have.

Then there’s technology. Advances in producing plantpowered ‘equivalents’ of our more traditional dishes are opening up an astounding new collection of ingredients and meals, making the vegan option on menus as varied and as appetising as every other category of food.

Add it all up and it’s easy to see why no fewer than 500,000 participants signed up for 2021’s ‘Veganuary’ challenge...a whopping 25% year-on year increase.

But here’s the thing... Check out your supermarket shelves. The sheer amount of space now given over to plant-powered food is expanding so quickly it can sometimes be hard to keep up.

And yet, if you talk to the people popping these items into their baskets, a significant percentage won’t be vegans at all. They’re simply part of our ‘new world’ where we choose to mix our diets, often electing to have two or three days a week of vegan eating, simply for the impact it can have on our health, or the environment, or both.

Pizza heads the charge Think about it. Pizza is the world’s favourite food. No big surprise when you consider every pizza base is a starting point for the imagination to run riot. Which makes it manna from heaven for creating plant-based options.

But if there’s one thing guaranteed to deliver the perfect vegan pizza experience, it’s the perfect vegan ‘cheese’. And if there was any doubt, take a look at the projections for the growth in global vegan cheese sales.