The parent company of Richmond and Fridge Raider, Pilgrim’s Food Masters, has forecasted the plant-based category to be worth £998 million by 2026 – a 74% increase over the next four years.

The prediction is driven predominantly by flexitarians. 43.7% of British shoppers consider themselves to be following a flexitarian diet compared to 2% following a vegan diet and 5.2% a vegetarian diet, respectively.

Veganuary is considered a key selling occasion for the plant-based sector. As a result, the campaign has officially exceeded last year’s total sign-ups as more than 600,000 people have pledged to try a plant-based diet.

READ MORE: Gosh!: We anticipated Veganuary 2022 would be the biggest to date

Furthermore, the campaign has long-term impacts as only 10% who took part in the event last year intended to return to their original diet.

“The plant-based category has been on an unbelievable growth trajectory over the last five years or so but it’s still a relatively small sector of overall FMCG sales,” Pilgrim’s Food Masters GB&I marketing, category, innovation and sustainability director Dawn Spencer said.

“This means there is still vast headroom for further growth. Plant-based alternatives can no longer be an afterthought, so retailers need to ensure they are investing in a robust plant-based offering which stretches across different categories.”

Spencer added: “There are really clear areas within plant-based which are currently underserved by the products on the market which is something we’re excited to tackle as a business.”

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