Brakes has launched its Winter Collection 2018/19 as part of a four day event held at its Covent Garden HQ during which the company also shared its insight into the rapidly growing Free From/Vegan/Vegetarian category.
With specific areas dedicated to hospitality and events, free from, all day dining, grab & go and Christmas, the event showcased a wide range of innovative and on trend products either recently introduced or earmarked for launch in the last quarter of 2018.
The rise of the Free From/Vegan/Vegetarian category was evident in many of the different product areas ranging from hot canapes to Nitro coffee, wraps to sweet treats and turkey to desserts.
During the event Brakes shared the latest statistics on the category which showed that there was a 987% increase in demand for Vegetarian options in 2017 compared to 2016, with 28% of the population looking to reduce their meat consumption during the same period.
It also revealed that there are now more than a million vegetarians and 500,000 vegans in the UK, whilst 11% of UK adults have tried to follow a vegan diet.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, young adults are the ones predominantly adopting permanent vegetarian diets, with half of all vegans in the UK aged 15-34, and one in ten 16-24 year olds describing themselves as Vegan.
Brakes’ Food Marketing Manager, Becky Hover said, “Whilst healthy eating has been high on young people’s agenda for some time, this is now helping drive growth of those avoiding meat and following a Vegan diet, with numbers doubling in three years.
“The biggest contribution is actually coming from consumers choosing veggie dishes, even if they’re not strictly vegetarian. This goes some way to explaining the fact that there were 200m more meat-free meals consumed in 2017 compared to the previous year – a 7% growth in a single year alone.'
Given this data it’s no coincidence that Brakes has been working hard to increase its already extensive Free From/Vegan/Vegetarian range with the launch of products such as gluten free sausages, Vegan cheese, veggie burgers, and main courses such as Pumpkin & Sage Tortelloni (V), Lentil & Chickpea Dhal (VE) and Butternut & Lentil Wellington (VE), alongside a wide selection of desserts including Blackcurrant Bavarois (VE) and Raspberry & Frangipane Tart (VE)(GF).