Lord Alan Sugar, Business Titan And Star Of The Apprentice UK, speaks at Pendulum Summit, World's Leading Business and Self-Empowerment Summit, in Dublin Convention Center. On Thursday, January 10, 2019, in Dublin, Ireland. On Wednesday, 8 January 2020, in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
British business magnate Lord Alan Sugar says companies should offer vegan food to stay relevant.
The star of the BBC series “The Apprentice” made the comments at London bakery Dough Bakehouse’s launch event for its new vegan range.
The bakery and café—located in Herne Hill, south London—was founded by Carina Lepore, who won last year’s series of “The Apprentice.” Lord Sugar invested £250,000 into the bakery.
At the event, the Amstrad founder said offering vegan food makes good business sense.
“That’s how you remain in business,” he told the Evening Standard. “If there is a demand for a new kind of product like a vegan item then, of course, you need to cater to it. Those that haven’t will fall behind, it’s as simple as that.”
“It’s a bit like the demise of Kodak, they kind of ignored the digital revolution, and they went from a company that monopolised photography to zero, basically,” he continued. “You see things like that happen, and the same will be applied to food.”
“If big companies don’t start observing that vegan stuff is important, they may find that some of their products start to dwindle in sales,” Lord Sugar said
Lepore’s bakery aims to compete with high street rival Greggs. The UK’s biggest bakery chain topped £1 billion in sales last year following the launch of its popular vegan sausage roll.
“She’s promised me that she’s going to open 100 stores and we’re going to give Greggs a run for their money,” Lord Sugar said.
Lepore says she plans on opening a second Dough Bakehouse location in Beckenham in April. She plans on opening two more locations by the end of 2020.
Dough Bakehouse’s new vegan range includes a sourdough loaf, vegan pasties, and a vegan sausage roll with sage and onion. It also includes sweet treats like chocolate brownies, banana cakes, and energy balls.
Lepore said, “we pride ourselves on being across on the latest food trends, so we are really excited to bring our new vegan range to our customers.”
This post was last modified on October 17, 2021 6:43 am