Plant-based brands are dominating the food sector and crowdfunding campaigns as the vegan and vegetarian population continues to grow and expand in the UK, a new report has revealed.

According to the latest annual report by crowdfunding company Seedrs, there is a 24% rise in successful campaigns in the vegan category in 2022, with plant-based businesses raising £105.1m in total, a year-on-year increase of 14%.

Despite surging inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, food and drink start-ups have been continuing to attract investor interest on the platform.

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Plant-based producer This returned to Seedrs in 2022, raising more than £8m from almost 3,000 backers in one of the biggest crowd rounds to date for a vegan brand.

As well as backing meat-free brands, investors put money into plant-based cheese, with Honestly Tasty securing more than £800k.

A growing awareness of the perceived impact of meat alternatives versus traditional farming also added to the heightened demand in the space, according to the report – for example, Planet Organic managed to close around £7m round at the end of the year, valuing the chain at £30m.

In 2022, Seedrs logged more than 141,000 individual investments on its private investment platform, helping 324 campaigns raise £550m over the year.

“There’s no denying that 2022 has been a year of obstacles. Rising inflation, volatile public markets, a looming global recession, the war in Ukraine, international energy crises and more have restricted post-pandemic recoveries,” Seedrs CEO, Jeff Kelisky said.

He added: “But, despite these significant headwinds, the Seedrs platform has continued to support some of the most innovative startups in Europe that are building the products and services that will shape the world of tomorrow.”

The news comes as Cathedral City has launched its plant-based cheese range in Sainsbury’s and Asda, alongside its current listing in Tesco.