More Brits Choose Vegan Diet During Pandemic

New research from Mintel revealed that the vegan diet has become more attractive to consumers since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Young people are particularly attracted to vegan food. Mintel found out that a quarter (25%) of young British Millennials (aged 21-30) prefer vegan products during the lockdown. 

Mintel surveyed 2,000 consumers, and the research results show that ​a vegan diet is more attractive to over one in ten (12%) of all Brits. The number is also rising among the inhabitants of London. Nearly a quarter (22%) of Londoners say that a vegan diet is more attractive at coronavirus outbreak.

Mintel also found out that half of Brits (51%) believe plant ingredients such as herbs and spices can have medicinal benefits.

Nearly a quarter (23%)of Brits said they were eating more fruit and vegetables since the pandemic started. 

According to the research, the youngest consumers prefer healthy eating - generation Z (aged below 20) (31%) and Millennials (27%) are most likely to buy healthy food products now. 

Two thirds (66%) of Brits believe that vitamin C helps support the immune system and 37% say they started adding more nutrients to their food in order to boost their immune system during COVID-19 outbreak.

The recent lockdown has also changed the long term eating habits of British consumers.

17% of Brits have been eating more tinned food during the lockdown; this number is rising to a quarter (25%) of Gen Z and Millennials (21%).

Nearly 37% Of Brits believe that people will be buying long-life food as a result of the pandemic. The number is higher among Gen Z (47%) and Millennials (45%). 

Majority of Brits (69%) said that the outbreak had encouraged them to waste less food. 

People also started cooking at home. More than half (55%) say they plan to cook more from scratch at home after Covid-19 than they did before.

Alex Beckett, the associate director at Mintel Food & Drink, said: “For consumers struggling to know how to make a positive difference, cutting out animal protein may be seen as a way of tackling the climate crisis, showing compassion for nature, and boosting their own nutrient intake.”​

Beckett added that before the outbreak, younger people generally opted for convenient, fresh food that did not take long to prepare. ​

​“But under lockdown, with more time at home and no restaurants or cafes open for business, long-life food has had clear advantages. It doesn’t take up precious fridge space and lasts a good while, making it suitable for quarantine-living and resulting in fewer shopping trips. It’s affordable, often nutritious, and, in the case of tinned veg or fruit, suits our rekindled fondness for cooking from scratch.”​