A growing number of food suppliers and retailers are embracing Veganuary, the movement which encourages followers to switch to a plant-based diet during the month of January.
Founded in the UK in 2014, Veganuary is becoming increasingly popular with more than 500,000 people expected to register this year.
According to Veganuary, more than 41,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide could be saved if 350,000 people were eat vegan food and replace all animal products such as meat and dairy products for one month.
'This amount equals more than 450,000 flights from Berlin to London,' said Port International, one of the companies that has signed up to the scheme.
UK food group Nisa is offering retail partners point-of-sale material to help them promote their plant-based ranges.
The healthy living event will also be promoted in Nisa consumer leaflets as well as through recipes on social media channels.
“In the spirit of shoppers getting on board the new-year health kick, there’s a feature on fresh fruit and vegetables as well as light, low calorie fridge and cupboard fillers,” Nisa said.
According to a new study from UK market research company Mintel, 25 per cent of British Millennials say that the COVID-19 pandemic has made a vegan diet more appealing.
Research shows that 23 per cent of UK consumers say they are eating more fruit and vegetables since the start of the outbreak.
The trend is most pronounced among younger consumers, with 31 per cent of Generation Z respondents (aged 20 and under) and 27 per cent of Millennials (aged 21 to 40), keeping their fridges well stocked with produce.
Citrus is proving particularly popular, with 66 per cent of respondents believing that consuming vitamin C helps support the immune system. Overall, almost two in five (37 per cent) of respondents say the Covid outbreak has prompted them to add more nutrients that support the immune system to their diet.
“Our products are vegan by nature and form an essential part of a plant-based diet,” said Mike Port, managing director of Port International.
“To replace just one meal here or there with a plant-based alternative can make a real difference and has a positive influence on the health of each of us individually and on the environment in general.
“We are very happy that we have been able to motivate nearly half of our staff in the Hamburg office to participate in the Workplace Challenge.”
