Two leading names on the UK retail scene are dramatically ramping up their vegan offers.
Health food chain Holland & Barrett, which operates 800 stores in the UK and Ireland, has issued a call to suppliers and start-ups for new products as it sets out to list 500 additional vegan food lines this year.
The call follows comments by CEO Peter Aldis last month that the brand is considering standalone vegan stores as it seeks to evolve its retail portfolio to suit the different types of customers it serves. Aldis said: “Currently we do not have a timescale as our estate is changing quickly with larger and more modern stores opening across the UK. We are however confident of opening a vegan format in the not too distant future and look forward to keeping the vegan community updated.”
Emma Cockerill, Holland & Barrett’s director of product development, said that her team of buyers would welcome innovative suppliers, commenting: “We’ve long been committed to a plant-based lifestyle even offering members of the Vegan Society a discount in store. And with the growing amount of vegans in the UK come comes the need for an expanded range of great products for them to choose from.”
Upscale grocer Waitrose, meanwhile, is to become the first British supermarket to have dedicated vegan sections in its stores.
Chloe Graves, Waitrose’s chilled vegetarian and vegan buyer, said: “Our current selection of products has been selling really well week after week, with requests for more choice coming from our customers and partners, so we could clearly see there was an appetite to have more vegetarian and vegan options in our shops.
Waitrose resorts that sales of vegan and vegetarian foods are up 34% on last year, reflecting the growing popularity of plant-based alternatives.