Veganism going out of fashion

[8ball]

Anecdotally, I have noticed choices disappearing. I work near an M&S and if I treat myself to lunch, all my usual go-tos have gone.

I’m pretty sure Greggs haven’t changed.

 

[editor]

Planning not to and are currently doing is a fair difference tho. The actual current statistics seem far more relevant when discussing a lower demand right now.

The current stats suggest veganism is on the rise:

In 2024, comparison website Finder questioned 2,000 Brits (with representative quotas for gender, age and region) and found that there are an estimated 2.5 million vegans in the UK (4.7 per cent of the adult population). They say the number of UK vegans has risen by an estimated 1.1 million between 2023 and 2024.

• Surveys show that many people are adopting diets with less animal products, with younger people leading the way.
• Between 2014 and 2019 there was a steep rise as the number of UK vegans quadrupled.
• In 2024, comparison website Finder said that there were an estimated 2.5 million vegans in the UK (4.7 per cent of the adult population). This is an increase on previous numbers which suggested two to four per cent of UK consumers are vegan.
• Other surveys suggest half of the UK population are cutting down – or cutting out – meat.
• Research carried out by Ipsos reveals that almost half (46 per cent) of Brits aged 16 to 75 are considering reducing their intake of animal products in the future.
• 63 per cent of Britain’s vegans have adopted the lifestyle in the past five years. However, 81 per cent of them were previously vegetarian, so many have been avoiding meat for much longer than this.
• 70 per cent of those surveyed went vegan because of animal-welfare concerns (80 per cent said they thought the way animals are farmed and killed is cruel), 53 per cent had environmental concerns and 27 per cent said personal health was also one of the reasons for going vegan.

Statistics about veganism

viva.org.uk

 

[Poot]

I’m pretty sure Greggs haven’t changed.

Why?

 

[8ball]

Why?

I guess maybe people who go to Greggs for lunch haven’t changed what they’re buying.
From anecdotal “standing in queue” evidence the vegan sausage rolls are still a top seller.

They brought back their vegan steak bake for Veganuary. Possible the strategy there is similar to McD’s with the McRib, with a little ambient marketing thrown in.

 

[editor]

Greggs have done a lot to forward veganism in the UK.

 

[newme]

The current stats suggest veganism is on the rise:

Statistics about veganism

viva.org.uk

Fair enough if that's the numbers, it was the massive percentage of gen z that seemed ambitiously questionable. But i would think that if anything that said what do you intend to do versus what do you do. Giving up drinking, nicotine or other drugs an example and that's far more beneficial healthwise.

None of my gen z kids or their mates seem to be veggie or vegan, whereas the majority of those I know that are vegan or veggie are baby boomers but that's just anecdotal so I defer to proper research.

We have award winning restaurants closing all over. Which were Indian, South African and various other (in their case) meat focused places. Still couldn't cover expenses. Vegan Market is under 5% by the sound of those stats, when the 95% and also award winning ones can't stay alive it's worse for more niche markets.

 

[JimW]

When I've planned restaurants for groups in the past, I've tried to go for a cuisine that is naturally veggie-friendly. Turkish/Greek is also a decent choice.

That's how I work it, though there are a few veg restaurants even out here in the sticks. Temple food is often done to mimic meat dishes but with fresh ingredients rather than meat substitutes, but all sorts of regular stuff is vegan anyway in even the grubby local eateries (or can be made so by asking the chef to leave one thing out, like no mutton fat in the green bean fermented tofu). Also loved going to the Turkish caff near my regular hostel back when i had to do regular visa runs to HK, ful and hummus and breads.

 

[sim667]

As someone who can’t eat dairy, I tend to have a lot of vegan food, and one of the things I find is the unnecessary expense and determination of companies who make good quality vegan snacks (like the protein bars I have) insisting on trying to get you into subscriptions….. that would irritate me enough to stop me buying vegan stuff if I was buying vegan stuff out of choice and not because vegan stuff makes me shart multiple times per day.

 

[pogofish]

It was the repayments on the bounceback loans kicking-in that did for two of the Vegan places here. That's about 50% of the total - although there are more mixed/"vegan-friendly" places than ever before.

Plus the energy costs/biz-rates hikes and the general slump in the hospitality sector. Some places seem to have recovered nicely but numbers are still away down here.

 

[skyscraper101]

Probably the only thing going out of fashion is the whole 'plant based' market as people gradually realize that the beyond burgers and other ultra processed foods of this world are probably just as bad for your health as actual meat. Not to mention the price of these things in this current cost of living climate.

Sales at vegan burger maker Beyond Meat fall by almost a third

US firm cuts revenue forecast as consumers opt for cheaper options amid cost of living crisis

www.theguardian.com

 

[Mrs Miggins]

I think a big problem that vegan restaurants face is that people who aren't vegan are reluctant to go to them so their customer base is small.

I'm not vegan - I'm not even vegetarian - but I'm interested in vegan food and have suggested a vegan restaurant a couple of times and have been met with absolute refusal to go by some people. I've been really surprised at this to be honest.

Vegans in a group are catered for at many, if not most, restaurants now or at least its not hard to find somewhere to go where they can eat at least one thing. So unless everyone in a party is vegan, the chances of them ending up in a vegan restaurant are slim.