Brits return to eating meat because plant-based food is too expensive

The vegan U-turn: Heck boss says Brits are returning to eating meat and veggie food because trendy plant-based products are too expensive – but veganism ‘will have its day in a few years’ time’

• Shoppers won’t risk spending their ‘hard-earned money’ on plant-based foods

The boss of a popular sausage company says the impact of soaring food inflation has left Britons shying away from trendy and expensive vegan products.

Supermarkets say the rate at which food prices are rising has fallen back for the second month in a row – but it still running high at 14.6 per cent. 

Jamie Keeble, co-found and sales manager of Heck Food, as now revealed that has prices remain higher than normal, consumers are taking less risks at the shop. 

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme that shoppers are returning to eating meats and other veggie products because the ‘cost of vegan products are quite expensive’.

Mr Keeble argued that shoppers are not willing to risk spending their ‘hard-earned money’ on plant-based products they may not like. He thinks that ‘meat will stay’ for a little while longer, but believes ‘vegan will have its day in a few years time’.

His prediction comes as Britain’s vegan market is in crisis with businesses going bust and products being pulled from shelves amid concerns over ‘ultra-processed’ food and the cost of living crisis.

The impact of soaring food inflation has left Britons shying away from trendy and expensive vegan products, the boss of a popular sausage company has claimed

Jamie Keeble, co-found and sales manager of Heck Food, says shoppers are returning to eating meats and other veggie products because the ‘cost of vegan products are quite expensive’. Two Heck products are pictured above

Mr Keeble says growth in the vegan food market ‘slumbered’ this year, suggesting it is likely due to the price of plant-based products.

‘The cost of vegan products are quite expensive and I think the consumer, at the end of the day, isn’t willing to start experimenting and spending their hard earned money,’ he said. 

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He said he believes that some cash-strapped shoppers have returned to eating meat, but added that they are ‘going to other non-eat products as well’.

‘I think meat will stay for a little bit longer and vegan will have its day in a few years time,’ Mr Keeble told the radio programme.

Furthermore, he acknowledged that although there has been ‘so much product development’ in the vegan sector, ‘the market hasn’t really grown with it’.

‘There’s been a bit too much, too soon,’ he said. ‘With everything that’s going on, it’s just been a bit hard to handle.’

Costs for both suppliers and retailers have ‘risen dramatically’ since the pandemic broke out in 2020, he explained, adding that Heck had to halt on certain operations over the last 18 months while bosses focused on ‘efficiencies in production’.

Mr Keeble also argued that unfortunately there is not wiggle room for retailers or suppliers to decrease their prices at this time.

He said: ‘We don’t know if there’s more (price rises) to come. The raw material price of pork and chicken is still very, very high and we haven’t got a crystal ball. We don’t know when that’s going to start to go the other way.

‘We see the price of pork, for example, being extremely high for the next 18 months and beyond that we are not too sure.

‘I think they (prices) will stay where they are, I don’t think they’ll go much higher – well I hope not anyway. But they’ll still be very high on the shelf and I think they’ll really start to fall in about 18 months’ time, we hope.’

The British Retail Consortium said shop price annual inflation decelerated to 8.4% in June, down from 9% in May – and food inflation decelerated to 14.6% in June, down from 15.4% in May

Mr Keeble appeared on the radio show just days after the British Retail Consortium (BRC) confirmed that food inflation dropped from 15.4 per cent in May. The figure for fresh food dropped from 17.2 per cent to 15.7 per cent as the country became less reliant on expensive imports.

As a result, general shop price inflation came down from 9 per cent to 8.7 per cent.

The chief Executive of the BRC, Helen Dickinson has claimed that households across the UK will welcome the easing of shop price inflation in June. 

She said: ‘Food inflation slowed for the second consecutive month, particularly for fresh products, as retailers cut the price of many staples including milk, cheese and eggs. 

‘Clothing and electrical goods also saw falling prices, helping customers to pick up a bargain ahead of the summer holidays.

Ms Dickinson argued that if the current situation continues, ‘food inflation should drop to single digits later this year’.

However, she called on the Government to drop a series of industry reforms, including a new packaging levy to combat plastic waste and a deposit and return scheme to boost bottle recycling.

Britain’s vegan market is in crisis with businesses going bust and products being pulled from shelves amid concerns over ‘ultra-processed’ food and the cost of living crisis

Food inflation has fallen for the second month in a row: READ MORE 

Supermarkets say the rate at which food prices are rising has fallen back for the second month in a row – but it still running at 14.6 per cent

Recent data also shows that the trendy vegan market is now ‘stagnant’ as people search for more healthy alternatives and turn their backs on the animal-free food and drink products which briefly took over supermarket shelves in the UK.

Supermarket customers appear to have started cutting back on meat-replacement products as inflation rose, according to research firm NielsenIQ, which earlier this month said sales fell by £37.3million in the year to September 2022. 

By the start of this year, analysis by ADHB and Kantar found that a million fewer households bought meat-free products compared to last January, and 280,000 fewer households bought dairy-free. 

Last month Heck reduced its vegan-friendly range from ten products to just two – chipolatas and burgers – after a lack of demand revealed customers were not as eager for vegan sausages as had previously been thought. 

Meatless Farm became the latest victim after the Leeds-based company made its 50-strong workforce redundant in early June and collapsed into administration. 

Other brands to have faltered in Britain in recent months include Yorkshire-based sausage maker Heck which has dropped most of its vegan products, and Swedish oat milk firm Oatly which has withdrawn its dairy-free ice cream offering in the UK.

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