Foodservice Footprint Unknown-7 Vegan dishes find favour at corporate sites Foodservice News and Information  news-email

Vegan dishes find favour at corporate sites

Demand for vegan and vegetarian options at corporate restaurants is booming based on data from one of the UK’s largest contract caterers.

Sodexo has reported that vegetarian and vegan meal sales almost doubled in corporate client sites between November 2020 and November 2021 going from 7% to 13% as a proportion of all meals sold.

In November 2021, 41% of all non-meat or non-fish meals purchased were vegan options such as jackfruit jalfrezi, vegan tacos and Korean stir fried tofu, up from 24% the same month the previous year.

The figures were collated from 145 catering outlets across Sodexo’s corporate clients using EPOS data.

The increase was reflective of a change in consumer awareness and increased choice, according to Claire Atkins-Morris, director of corporate responsibility at Sodexo. “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,” she said.

This year’s Veganuary campaign has once again seen food businesses launch a raft of new vegan and vegetarian products and dishes to meet growing consumer demand for plant-based options.