vegconomist - the vegan business magazine

Fast-food giant KFC is returning its Original Recipe Vegan Burger to restaurants across the UK due to its popularity. KFC is making the award-winning plant-based chicken burger a permanent fixture on the menu as of today.  Aimed at the growing flexitarian market, the Original Recipe Vegan Chicken Burger features a plant-based Quorn fillet with the chain’s famed coating and vegan mayo. The burger is priced from £3.99 in restaurants and via delivery.   Originally launched back in June 2019, the first KFC vegan burger made by Quorn completely sold out across trial locations in the UK, reportedly selling 500% more than average menu launches. In 2021, the president of KFC in the US confirmed that the global chain is developing plant-based versions of its trademark tenderloin and strip offerings.    ...

VegTech™ Plant-based Innovation & Climate ETF (Ticker: EATV), a global ETF of publicly-traded plant-based innovation companies, has launched on the New York Stock Exchange.  The first financial product from the VegTech™ Invest advisory, the VegTech™ ETF (Ticker EATV), includes 37 publicly traded companies actively innovating with plants and plant-derived ingredients and producing primary products that are animal-free.  VegTech™ Invest advisors, Elysabeth Alfano and Sasha Goodman, say they feel these companies positively impact climate change as well as solve some of the world’s most pressing problems such as food security, deforestation, animal cruelty and growing public health concerns. VegTech™: A Pure-Play in Plant-Based Innovation “We are excited to be what we believe is the first pure-play ETF that invests in companies innovating with plants and producing animal-free products.  We believe that today’s investors want a more resource-efficient, climate-friendly, and cruelty-free food and materials supply system…and want to invest their dollars in the same,” says VegTech™ Invest CEO and CMO, Elysabeth Alfano. “My partner Sasha Goodman and I are excited to offer an ETF that empowers the average person to invest with their values and participate in this large-scale, secular trend.” “With this ETF, I am excited to drive capital to plant-based innovation companies.  I also hope to encourage public companies to lead the way and replace animal products with innovations that are better for people, the planet and the animals,” VegTech™ Invest President and Fund Manager, Sasha Goodman says. VegTech™ Invest VegTech Invest™ is an investment management firm advising the thematic ...

M&S has added a variety of new products to its Plant Kitchen range for Veganuary 2022, as well as launching its own two-month-long Sparking Change National Challenge. The initiative includes free expert tips and resources on exploring plant-based protein and reducing food waste. The famous high street retailer now has 175 products in its plant-based range, with new products in the expanded vegan line including Plant Kitchen Lasagne, Tikka Masala, Vegan Fish Fingers, No Lamb Shawarma, VLT Sandwich, Wood-fired Hot & Spicy Pizza, Chocolate Cake Jar, and many more.  In January, M&S will be providing Sparking Change National Challenge ideas through Sparks – its loyalty reward scheme – around the best ways to incorporate more protein from plants into customers’ diets. With simple swaps and flavor hacks, as well as discounts on the UK retailer’s award-winning meat-free Plant Kitchen range every Monday during the month, joining forces with Meat Free Monday to encourage families to go plant-based for one day a week.  90% eating less meat  The initiative was inspired by customers’ growing sustainability concerns, with M&S initially conducting a trial of the scheme on 100 families nationwide. The findings featured lasting impacts over three months, with 90% eating less meat and wasting less food, and 34% more likely to buy plant-based meat alternatives.   “We want to help our customers explore and enjoy more sustainable ways of living and our Plant Kitchen range means any swaps customers do make aren’t compromising on quality, affordability or taste,” commented Sophia Linn, Nutritionist ...

ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#FollowYourHeart–With the new year and a renewed focus on health, Mellow Mushroom, the originators of hand-tossed, stone-baked classic Southern pizza, is adding two new limited time only vegan pizzas to their menu featuring Follow Your Heart® Dairy-Free Cheeses. The launch comes in support of Veganuary, which encourages people to try vegan for the month of January and beyond with the goal of helping to protect the planet and improve human health. A plant-based diet can improve your health and support environmental sustainability. Mellow Mushroom has partnered with leading plant-based pioneer, Follow Your Heart, and nonprofit Veganuary to encourage consumers to take the one month pledge. And they’re making it easy by offering delicious vegan pies, vegan toppings, and by adding to the existing online Mellow Mushroom vegan menu. “Mellow Mushroom is delighted to partner with Follow Your Heart to create two new vegan pies just in time for Veganuary,” says Anne Mejia, VP Brand Development, Mellow Mushroom. “Mellow Mushroom has long embraced veganism and other dietary lifestyle choices and needs, including offering certified gluten-free pies.” Mellow Mushroom has created two new vegan pies that satisfy the taste buds of pizza lovers and vegans alike. The pies are meatless and packed with healthy veggies and herbs — developed in collaboration with Follow Your Heart, a producer of high-quality dairy-free cheeses and other plant-based foods. The “Miss Mushroom” pizza features spinach, minced garlic, portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions, chives, Follow Your Heart Vegan Mozzarella, and Follow Your Heart Vegan Feta Crumbles. The ...

Scientific review by Unilever recommends plant-based foods as a way of improving consumer health and benefiting the environment. Multinational consumer goods corporation Unilever has carried out research into the benefits of plant-based foods. The review, which draws on 141 studies, concludes that a transition towards plant-based diets is desirable to improve consumers’ intake of several vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients such as fibre. This would have the added benefit of reducing the environmental impact of food production. The review recommends that public health strategies should try to make this transition easier for consumers, with the nutrition industry also playing an important role. However, the scientists caution that all diets studied had some nutritional inadequacies. They say proper education of consumers, along with fortification of plant-based foods with nutrients such as B12, is important to ensure a balanced diet. Plant-based by Unilever Unilever says it is taking a nutrition-focused approach with its own products — for example, the meat alternatives in its Vegetarian Butcher range are fortified with B12. The company has an increasing emphasis on plant-based products, and is set to surpass €1 billion in plant-based sales in the next three to five years. Last year, Unilever reported that The Vegetarian Butcher had seen a huge 70% increase in sales over the previous year, adding that the rise of plant-based foods is now “inexorable”. The corporation is also seeing increasing success with its other plant-based brands, such as its dairy-free Magnum and Ben and Jerry’s ice creams and its vegan ...

Multinational pharmaceutical company MEGA We Care has launched what it claims is the first accredited plant-based nutrition conference in Asia. Asia’s Plant-Based Nutrition Healthcare Conference will feature nine notable speakers such as Dr. Dean Ornish, inventor of the Ornish Diet and winner of the “National Public Health Hero” award from the University of California. Another speaker is multi-award-winning medical professor Dr. Kim Alan Williams, an expert on cardiovascular disease. The speakers will explain how plant-based diets can be used to prevent, manage, and sometimes even reverse chronic disease. Topics will include heart health, brain health, diabetes, gut health, cancer research, paediatrics, and more. Plant-based in Asia The event is timely, since interest in plant-based diets is skyrocketing in Asia. The Asia-Pacific region is set to have the largest share of the global plant-based market by 2025, and recent research shows that 62% of consumers in the region want to buy plant-based meat. Many of these consumers are motivated by health concerns. Due to Covid restrictions, the plant-based nutrition conference will be held virtually on January 22. Anyone is welcome to join. “APBNHC is going to be the FIRST accredited medical education conference in Asia that will unravel the latest progressive scientific research highlighting the efficacy of plant-based whole food nutrition on overall health. Most importantly, the conference will cover how plant-based nutrition can help to prevent, manage, as well as even reverse serious ailments,” said a spokesperson for the event. ...

Discount retailer Aldi launches vegan cheese, targeting customers participating in Veganuary. Aldi UK has launched its first ever vegan cheese, sold under the chain’s Plant Menu brand. The 200g Mature Cheddar block is made from coconut oil and is free of gluten and soy. The cheese is also available grated in a 150g pack. Both products will retail at £1.39, significantly underpricing the vegan cheeses offered by supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s and major brands like Violife. Aldi is not alone in launching vegan cheese for Veganuary — Babybel has also just unveiled its first dairy-free mini waxed cheeses in the UK, wrapped in a recyclable green jacket instead of the usual red. Plant-based at Aldi Aldi UK has previously launched plant-based products that underprice major brands. Last year, the supermarket introduced No Beef Burgers priced 60% lower than Beyond Meat. Elsewhere in the world, Aldi is gaining a reputation for offering affordable plant-based options. In 2021, the chain was named the most vegan-friendly supermarket in both Germany and the US by animal rights charity PETA. The discount retailer has also acknowledged the Veganuary campaign in previous years, running special offers and offering products such as vegan tuna in January. “Aldi is proud to be supporting Veganuary with the introduction of a new range of plant-based products across our stores,” the chain said in 2020. ...

The production of plant-based and cultivated meat should be regarded as a national security issue, according to Matt Spence, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense. In a recent op-ed titled “The National Security Case for Lab-Grown and Plant-Based Meat”, Spence outlined several reasons why the US government should invest in animal-free protein to enhance food security.  The article highlights Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who became the first world President to taste cultivated chicken at the COP26 Climate Summit in October. Herzog commented the chicken was “amazingly delicious” and suggested cultivated meat technology, which uses fewer resources and leaves a smaller carbon footprint, was critical to both Israel’s and the world’s security. Spence says other heads of state have privately expressed greater fear over climate-driven drought and loss of arable farmland than nuclear weapon proliferation. While serving at the Pentagon and National Security Council, Spence reports both organizations constantly sought to address long-term global risks using conflict-free, technological solutions. One of the “most immediate, politically feasible, and high-impact ways” to achieve those ends, according to Spence, is for the US government to accelerate animal-free protein production.  Avoiding climate change wars Pointing to the major environmental problems caused by industrial agriculture, especially heavy methane emissions, deforestation and inefficient conversion of calories, Spence argues alternative protein can help relieve the pressure on land and water resources that often leads to political conflict.  The increasing appetite for meat in Asia, Africa and Latin America will only further strain existing crop systems, where global ...

Plant-based meat brand Meatless Farm has partnered with Dragon’s Den star Levi Roots to launch what it claims to be the UK’s first plant-based jerk chicken restaurant. Called The M***F*** Jerk Joint, the pop-up restaurant is opening for Veganuary 2022 and will offer free jerk chicken at the Shoreditch, London location.  British-Jamaican musician and entrepreneur Levi Roots found widespread fame after appearing on the TV program Dragons’ Den in 2007, raising funds to launch his Reggae Reggae Sauce. The collaboration with Meatless Farm comes as the alt meat brand launches its Plant-Based Chicken Breast, which will be available at the restaurant in two exclusive Levi Roots’ Caribbean recipes.  To celebrate the concept, Meatless Farm will be giving away free Meatless Jerk Chicken while stocks last at the M*** F*** Jerk Joint,  from Thursday 20th – Saturday 22nd January 2022, 12pm-4pm. The location is Iron Bloom, 46 Great Eastern St, London.  “I’ll be turning my all-time favourite classic dish of Jerk chicken, rice and peas plant-based with the help of Meatless Farm’s new chicken breast and my Reggae Reggae sauce, and there’ll be absolutely no compromise on taste with my delicious recipe”, commented Levi Roots. Meatless Farm‘s new plant-based Chicken Breast launches for Veganuary as of today. RRP: £3.50 at Tesco and Asda.  ...

As part of a £3 million investment and a full packaging and brand relaunch, British heritage plant-based brand Cauldron Foods has announced its new carbon-neutral certification. According to the company, Cauldron will be the first UK meat-free brand to achieve carbon neutrality for its entire range of products from January 2022. Working with ClimatePartner, Cauldron Foods is committing to several measures to avoid, reduce and offset emissions. The latter will be achieved via certified carbon offsetting projects to attain complete carbon neutral certified status. The move comes alongside a full packaging and range relaunch for the Monde Nissin-backed brand. Cauldron has also announced the renewal of its official sponsorship of Veganuary in 2022 with the brand having enjoyed a 2021 of continued success and growth. Cauldron launched into the alt dairy market last year with its dairy-free Greek Style Cubes and currently holds the claim of being the UK’s No. 1 plant-based brand in the chilled meat-free sector. “We’re so proud to be the first in the category to achieve carbon neutral status on every single one of our delicious Cauldron products, through our work with ClimatePartner. Alongside our ongoing commitment to The UK’s Plastic Pact, we are pushing forward with our plans to one day become planet positive,” stated Tom Lindley, Head of Cauldron. ...