Share of new vegan products launched in Germany, the UK and Europe in 2018

In 2018, 16 percent of new food product launches were declared as vegan or as having no animal ingredients in the United Kingdom. This was higher than the share of new product launches in Germany for the first time. The German market already has a very established vegan food market. It has therefore less potential for high growth rates compared to the less established UK market.

How many vegans are there in the UK?

In January 2019, about 2.6 percent of the UK population were vegan. However, the number of vegans in the UK is hard to pin down exactly. Depending on the source the numbers might vary between 1.1 percent in 2018 to up to seven percent. While the latter can be dismissed due to poor survey design, the number is still hard to pin down since it likely falls entirely into the margin of error of an average survey. It is probable that the actual number is somewhere between one and three percent. Yorkshire and Humber, as well as Inner and Outer London were among the regions with a higher share of vegans in 2019.

Why be vegan?

Ethical motivations such as animal-welfare concerns or environmental concerns were one of the main reasons to become Vegan in 2018. Most UK vegans thought that their diet had the least environmental impact. This perception was by all accounts correct and looking at American consumers, a vegan diet had roughly one ton of CO² equivalent less emissions per person per year compared to the average meat eater. Convenience was the most common reason to no longer be vegan in the UK in 2018.