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Veganism has become an increasingly popular lifestyle choice over the past few years, but it has become particularly prevalent in the past year. With over 7% of the UK population now identifying as vegan, compared to only 1% in 2016, there is a vast market to cater for. As more and more Instagram accounts dedicate themselves to the plant-based way of life and supermarkets ensure vegan ingredients are much more easily accessible, it’s not surprising that the number of people who now identify as vegan has soared from 540,000 in 2016 to 3.5 million today!
The rising popularity of veganism has meant restaurants have needed to change their menus and food offerings to accommodate consumer preferences. We investigated veganism within the hospitality industry to discover how operators are adapting to the new lifestyle choice.
Social media and healthier lifestyles
Endorsed by celebs such as Brad Pitt, Kate Winslet, Russell Brand and Miley Cyrus, this growing trend has also been supported by the fact that younger people are now drinking less and working out more. With social media offering more exposure to healthier lifestyles, fitness regimes and alternative food sources, veganism sits well with a generation who are more health conscious than ever. In March, The Real Greek built a campaign based largely around this as they pushed how adapting your diet towards veganism can “improve physical fitness levels, make you less stressed, give you great skin and boost your immune system.”
Vegan variety
It’s clear that this is a trend to be taken seriously, and that’s exactly what the hospitality sector did. There was a huge gap in the market for interesting vegan options and healthier dishes featuring centre stage, as opposed to just an afterthought at the bottom of the menu. Consumers’ eyes were opened to the potential of veganism, and standards were raised in response to demand. Restaurants now offer an increasing variety of vegan alternatives, as they aim to cater for this key market. The Real Greek launched an entirely new menu dedicated to thirty vegan dishes, in a majority of cases these new menus now form part of the restaurant’s core offering, and have often lead advertising campaigns to entice consumers.
Driving advertising campaigns
All Bar One, for example, ran ‘Veganuary’ – offering their new dishes at discounted set prices, promoting the ‘health kick’ benefits and the ‘guilt-free’ tastiness of their new menu. They did not stop there though, as they also tapped into the environmental benefits associated with the lifestyle, promoting the fact that by ordering these dishes it would ‘help towards reducing your carbon footprint’ – another trend that has grown in popularity with the younger generation, largely triggered by David Attenborough’s series and often referred to as the ‘Blue Planet effect’.
Wagamama, Harvester, Byron, Carluccios, Pizza Hut and Nandos are just a few of the other restaurant chains that have all built campaigns around their new vegan offerings. Pizza Hut trialled their first ever vegan cheese option earlier in the year to test its popularity as a meat-free alternative. There is a big emphasis around the concept that ‘meat-free shouldn’t mean taste-free’ and restaurants have really grabbed that with both hands, pushing flavours, variety and creative presentation as key selling points of their new dishes.
The reinvented burger
In April this year, Byron – renowned for its selection of ‘proper hamburgers’ – launched its first ever vegan burger. The ‘Beetnik’, which “compromises of a beautifully flavoursome beetroot falafel patty, freshly made to Byron’s own recipe”, now features front and centre on their website’s home page. Two other options include The Jack Stack, a vegan bean patty with pulled BBQ jackfruit, and the Cheese Melt, a beer battered smoked cheese with pickled red onions and mustard mayonnaise.
Stateside influence
By Chloe, a popular and dedicated vegan fast food chain in the US, came over from the states back in January and launched a site in Covent Garden. Their dishes include the ‘Guac Burger’ made from a black bean, quinoa, and sweet potato patty, and the ‘Pesto Meatball’ made from Portobello and veggie meatballs, with sweet peppers, basil pesto and cashew mozzarella. They have previously been named the best veggie burgers in New York, so it’s no surprise there are now queues around the block to get a glimpse at what this restaurant has to offer. In fact, By Chloe continues to grow as the restaurant opened its second site at Tower Bridge on Tuesday this week (12th June). They saw the growing popularity of vegan food in the UK, and didn’t mess around.
Fast food testing veganism
KFC is the latest operator to announce a plant-based option as it joins the healthier food trend dominating 2018. It will be testing chicken-like vegetarian options with customers in the UK for the first time in the company’s history, but fear not the signature blend of 11 herbs and spices will still be included in the original recipe coating. This also comes as part of KFC’s pledge to cut calories in its meals by 20% over the next 7 years.
