Vegans are consistently spending more on groceries than the average meat consumers, with a total food spend of £14 billion a year.
According to VoucherCodes.co.uk Food Spend report, vegan consumers are spending almost a third more than the national average on groceries – £2802 per person.
Vegetarian consumers are also spending more than the national average on groceries a year, with an average spend of £2,928 per person a year.
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Combined, grocery retailers are earning up to £4.68 billion from vegetarian consumers per year.
The report outlines that vegan and vegetarian alternatives such as tofu, Quorn products and seitan are driving up the price of baskets.
Vegans, in general, spend £35 per month buying meat substitutes, vegetarians spend slightly less at £27 whereas meat consumers only spend £21 on meat.
Additionally, vegans and vegetarians spend more on fruit and vegetables to supplement their meals with £38 and £27 per month, respectively. The national average, however, sits at a much lower margin of £17 per month.
In terms of the reasoning for going vegan or vegetarian, 31% opt for the lifestyle for perceived health benefits, 25% due to animal welfare concerns and another 25% due to diet control reasons.
Only 21% cited environmental reasons and around 15% say cost is a factor in opting for a meat-free diet.
“There are an estimated 7.2 million people in the UK following a meat-free diet and this number is only expected to grow in the coming years as increasing numbers of consumers embrace plant-based diets for health, environmental and ethical reasons,” Voucher Codes senior director commercial Angus Drummond said.
“Whilst product choice for plant-based consumers has improved dramatically over the past few years, this report shows that there is still a need for retailers to offer more reasonably priced plant-based meat alternatives, particularly in light of the cost of living crisis.”
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