Veganuary: 25 million people sampled vegan food during 2024 campaign

From businessgreen.com

10th anniversary campaign directly supported more than 1.8 million people with free resources this year

Veganuary has calculated that roughly 25 million people worldwide chose to try vegan food this January, almost two million of whom were directly supported by the organisation's free resources.

Veganuary today announced it reached more than 1.8 million people last month with weekly podcasts, daily coaching emails, and YouTube videos, as well as social media posts in English, German, Spanish and Portuguese, and products including a new Veganuary Cookbook.

Drawing on YouGov surveys in the core countries targeted by the campaign, the group calculated that roughly 25 million people worldwide chose to try vegan dishes during its 10th anniversary campaign this year.

Moreover, 75 per cent of UK respondents to YouGov's survey reported having heard of Veganuary even if they have never taken part, while the campaign's social media presence grew further, with #Veganuary viewed on TikTok more than 1.1 billion times.

As well as delivering a leap in campaign engagement, Veganuary this year launched a new official chapter in Spain and sent its campaign flag to the International Space Station where it orbited the Earth 4,400 times.

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Credit: iStock

Veganuary 2024 also saw a number of brands join the campaign for the first time.

Hard Rock Café launched a vegan menu in all of its outlets worldwide as well as Veganuary branded merchandise in flagship locations, for example, while Claire's Accessories and the software giant Salesforce joined 115 other UK organisations in signing up to Veganuary's Workplace Challenge.

Toni Vernelli, head of communications at the campaign, said it was "incredibly inspiring" to see Veganuary's participation and influence continue to grow around the world.

"As people become more aware of the incredible impact our food choices have on the health of our planet, attitudes towards veganism are changing everywhere and Veganuary's friendly, non-judgmental, just-give-it-a-go-for-a-month-and-see-what-you-think approach has undoubtedly played an instrumental role in this shift," she said.

According to campaign figures, for every million participants who eat vegan for 31 days 6.2 million litres of water and CO2 emissions equivalent to 1.2 million flights from London to Paris are saved, while more than 3.4 million animals are spared from suffering, according to The Vegan Society's calculator.

Veganuary co-founder Matthew Glover - who recently launched the rebranded Vegan Food Group in an effort to establish a "vegan Unilever" - said the explosion in plant-based products that has accompanied the campaign is truly revolutionising the future of food.

"When my wife Jane and I decided to launch a new year's vegan pledge in 2014, we expected only 1,000 people to take part," he said. "More than 3,000 signed up and we were blown away.

"Now Veganuary is a bigger feature in the retail calendar than Christmas, reflecting the ever-increasing number of people choosing plant-based food."

High-profile supporters of the campaign include Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney, Chris Packham, Lucy Watson, Johnny Marr, Deborah Meaden, and actor, author and activist Joanna Lumley.

"Veganuary's mission is to make the world a kinder, safer, happier place for all, which makes their January campaign utterly irresistible," Lumley said.

"I'm in awe of every single person taking part for the climate, our rivers and oceans, forests and wild places, animals and people. You're all angels."

https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4171181/veganuary-million-people-sampled-vegan-food-2024-campaign