Quorn’s parent company Marlow Foods has been hit with cost hikes as demand for plant-based alternatives in supermarkets has plummeted over the last year.

According to The Grocer, revenues in the year ending 31 December 2022 took a dive as sales in retail fell 4.3% to £192.9m.

Despite overall revenue growth, the group sank to a £12.9m operating loss, compared with a profit of £8.7m in 2021.

The vegan brand saw a 43.7% jump in foodservice to £28.3m and growth of 81.1% to £6.7m in fast food, which helped the overall top line increase 1.3% to £227.9m.

Additionally, Marlow grew its retail market share by 1.5% to 31.7% in the year as it added more than 21,000 additional distribution points.

It comes as demand has been continuing to slow for plant-based products, such as Beyond Meat, due to rising prices amid the cost-of-living crisis.

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Quorn CEO Marco Bertacca told The Grocer that the inflationary pressure in the wake of the Ukraine war had “a significant impact” on the business.

He said: “2022 was a year where we saw huge changes in consumer behaviour and turbulence in the global economy, but we were pleased to deliver sales growth and to consolidate our leadership in UK retail.

“We always seek to insulate our consumers from the impact of higher costs and to protect the affordability of our food where possible, but these dynamics pushed our business into a loss for the year.”

Earlier this year, Quorn parent company, Marlow Ingredients partnered with Tempty Foods to launch mycoprotein based products.