Veganuary: Sodexo reports a steady increase in uptake of vegan and vegetarian meals
Marking Veganuary 2022, Sodexo has released food sales data showing the month-on-month increase in purchases of both vegan and vegetarian meals across its UK foodservice outlets at corporate client sites.
- In the twelve months to November 2021, the sale of vegan and vegetarian meal options formed on average 10% of all Sodexo’s food sales at corporate client sites
- Vegetarian and vegan meal sales, as a proportion of all meals sold, almost doubled between November 2020 and November 2021 going from 7% to 13%
- In November 2021, 41% of all non-meat or non-fish meals purchased were vegan, up from 24% the same month the previous year
- The figures were collated from 145 catering outlets across Sodexo’s corporate clients using their EPOS data
Sodexo food sales data revealed today shows that, by the end of 2021, vegan and vegetarian meal options were forming 13% of all meal sales at offices and other corporate client sites where it provides catering. This marks a significant increase on the start of the year when these meals represented just 8% of all those sold.
During November 2021, the most recent complete month of data, 41% of all the non-meat or non-fish meals sold were vegan. This was the highest proportion of vegan meals selected since Sodexo began tracking this data in September 2020.
Vegan options offered by Sodexo include: Jackfruit Jalfrezi, No Chicken Enchiladas, Falafel Burger, Kentucky Fried Jackfruit, Vegan Tacos, Vegetable Pad Thai, Ratatouille Pasta, Aubergine and Pepper Balti, Korean Stir Fried Tofu, Quorn Jambalaya and many more.
As part of our Net Zero commitment, we understand that plant-based meals have a lower carbon impact. We have set ourselves the goal of increasing the number of plant-based meals and recipes we supply to 33% by 2025. The incremental increase in sales of vegan and vegetarian meals we are already seeing across our sites is hugely encouraging and reflective of a change in consumer awareness and increased choice. We are a proud supporter of Veganuary and want to highlight our support through raising awareness of the positive impact of plant-based meals and support consumers to choose sustainable dishes that are tasty and exciting.
Whether driven by concerns for the planet, health improvements or animal welfare, one thing is certain - veganism is a trend that keeps on trending, and we’re thrilled to see Sodexo reporting such significant growth in sales on vegan and vegetarian meals. Veganuary is here to help everyone who wants to try vegan, but our job is made so much easier when companies like Sodexo are providing such delicious, accessible options in their corporate client sites.