One of the UK’s largest supermarkets accredits vegan products for their recent rise in sales, Sky News reports.
ASDA, the third-largest supermarket in Britain, revealed a 0.5% increase in their third-quarter sales, compared to the same period in previous year. This spike follows three consecutive quarters of growth, and executives are attributing this success to their vegan-friendly products. Chief Executive, Roger Burnley, credits the brand’s seasonal vegan mince pies for the boom in new customers. Burnley told Sky News that in December alone, they were able to “attract over 348,000 new customers.”
“We really improved our offer for customers,” he added. Burnley also revealed that ASDA was “the only one of the big four to retain [their] market share.”
After three years of constant declines, this growth comes as a relief. ASDA is owned by Walmart, the U.S. based supermarket giant. Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon said: “We know we have more work to do in the UK, however, we are encouraged by recent results in key areas of our business.”
The popularity of veganism continues to grow; a recent report said that people in the UK are eating 50% less beef while another 30% of Brits said they wanted to give up cheese and cow’s milk in 2018. Many retailers are responding by introducing more vegan and vegetarian options. Most recently, ASDA launched the chain’s first-ever vegan and gluten-free hot cross buns, just in time for Easter.
ASDA has also created their own brand of dairy-free cheese as well as an entire line of on-the-go vegan products. According to ASDA’s innovations chef, the new range was introduced to “answer the dietary needs of the nation”, as the UK sees “more and more customers going vegan”.
Multiple supermarkets in the UK have reported a surge in sales of plant-based food. In fact, recent data revealed that almost 30% of meals in Britain are now meat-free. The research also stated that this growth has caused veganism to become “mainstream.”
