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By Rosa Furneaux
LONDON, Oct 31 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - From vegan
burgers to vegan boots, the market for products using no animal
products is surging, with climate-conscious consumers in Britain
fuelling the global dash to cash in on a fast- expanding range
of ethical merchandise.
With the 25th annual World Vegan Month starting on Nov. 1,
Britain has overtaken Germany to become the nation with the
highest number of new vegan food products launched in a year,
according to market research firm Mintel.
About 16% of food products launched in 2018 had a vegan
claim, up from 8% in 2015, with the sector growing about 30
percent in the year to 740 million pounds ($955 million), the
firm said. No earlier figures were available.
While vegan food sales were surging, no data was available
to track sales of other vegan products, ranging from kilts to
lipstick, as celebrities fanned the trend.
U.S. musician Lady Gaga launched a vegan make-up range this
year and Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton helping to open a
meat-free burger chain.
The surge in demand comes as more consumers take note of
data from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) showing livestock produce 14.5% of greenhouse gas
emissions globally and cause large-scale deforestation.
Emma Clifford, associate director of food and drink at
Mintel, said the boom was being driven by a change in consumer
mindset and an explosion of exciting, new vegan products in a
sector once seen as "bland, very uninspiring".
VEGAN EXPLOSION
"I don't think anyone expected the vegan market to explode
the way it has," Clifford told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"We're expecting the growth that we currently see in
meat-free foods to carry on over the next five years ... We
think the trend has got a lot of longevity."
In terms of food, products like vegan haggis and vegan
burgers that bleed like meat, have injected "an exciting, foodie
element into this category", said Clifford.
But other industries have also taken up the vegan trend with
Mintel predicting an uptick this year in fashion retailers
releasing vegan shoe collections.
Brands including Adidas and Steve Madden have
launched vegan lines while Britain's Dr. Martens - made famous
by punk music fans - stomped into the market with a vegan boot.
One of the biggest names in British retail, Marks & Spencer
Group Plc, expanded its range of vegan clothing and
accessories this spring to keep up with consumer demand.
The first Vegan Fashion Week ran in Los Angeles in February.
Cosmetic companies have joined the bandwagon with
supermarket chain Sainsbury's, British health and
beauty retailer Superdrug, and Swedish fashion retailer H&M
offering vegan lines.
"We've seen brands and supermarkets fully embrace this
trend," Clifford said.
But vegan food remained the frontrunner in the sector,
becoming Britain's fastest-growing takeaway, according
to research by the British Takeaway Campaign - and the big
chains were joining the meat-free movement.
The world's No 1 burger chain, McDonald's Corp,
recently announced a trial of meatless burgers in Canada while
vegan cheese is available at Pizza Hut in Australia.
Vegan menus are taking off with airlines including at United
Airlines, Ryanair, Hawaiian Airlines and Cathay Pacific,
while beer maker Guinness has removed fish guts in its
filtration system to make its stout vegan friendly.
In the United States, major agricultural firms are investing
in the fake-meat market, which now accounts for 5% of U.S. meat
purchases according to investment management firm Bernstein.
That share is expected to triple over a decade, the firm said.
"Consumers are starting to realise that the kind of dirty
supply chain of industrialised animal agriculture isn't
something they want to support," said Zak Weston, food service
analyst at U.S.-based non-profit, The Good Food Institute.
"As more and more consumers realise that, they're starting
to make choices ... which reflect that new-found motivation to
do good in the world."
($1 = 0.7735 pounds)
(Editing by Belinda Goldsmith. Please credit the Thomson
Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that
covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property
rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org to
see more stories.)
