UK retailer Tesco has doubled its vegetarian and vegan centrepiece food offering ahead of this year’s Christmas season.
The supermarket giant says that demand for vegetarian and vegan options has increased sharply in the last year, with sales of chilled vegetarian ready meals and meat substitutes growing by 25%.
As a result, Tesco is introducing a new range of vegetarian and vegan options for the main festive meal, including Portobello Mushroom Wellington, Festive Nut Roast, Turmeric Spiced Cauliflower Wellington, and Pecan and Peanut Roast.
“These are changing times, and vegetable dishes have now become centrepiece heroes in their own right on dinner tables up and down the country,” said chef Derek Sarno, director of plant-based innovation at Tesco.
“We think that our Portobello Mushroom Wellington is so delicious that it may tempt diners to try something different this Christmas,” Sarno continued.
Changing Trends
Tesco has been increasing its vegan options this year, with a new range of dairy-free cheeses and desserts.
Elsewhere, the retailer recently pledged to increase the amount of vegetables used in recipes and offer more vegetable options in its ready-meal deals.
“Offering customers a better choice is especially welcome at Christmas,” said Lynne Elliot, chief executive of the Vegetarian Society.
“With demand for vegetarian and meat-free alternatives rising, it’s great to see supermarkets across the UK, like Tesco, working hard to keep their customers happy and increasing their vegetarian range.”
Nearly half (44%) of British shoppers do not eat meat, have reduced the amount of meat that they eat, or are considering reducing the amount that they eat, according to a British Social Attitudes report published last year.
This is a trend that can be seen across Europe. Last week, Coop Sweden said that one in five Swedish shoppers plans to eat a vegetarian-oriented meal this Christmas.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
