Appetite for vegan diets is growing

From theecologist.org

One in eight people said a vegan diet had become more attractive to them

A quarter of 21 to 30-year-olds say the idea of going vegan has become more appealing to them since the coronavirus pandemic started, a survey has found.Some 25 percent of people in this age group feel this way, according to research from Mintel. One in eight people across the survey said a vegan diet had become more attractive to them.

Nearly a quarter of people surveyed said they have been eating more fruit and vegetables since the start of the outbreak, with people aged 40 and under being the most likely to say they are keeping their fridges well-stocked.

Trend
Nearly two fifths of people said the Covid-19 outbreak has prompted them to try to add more nutrients that support the immune system to their diet.

Alex Beckett, associate director, Mintel Food and Drink, said: "Even before the spread of Covid-19, we were seeing a growing interest in plant-based food and drink across global markets.
"It may well be that the pandemic is accelerating this trend."

Cooking
Some 37 percent of people believe that, in the long term, shoppers will buy long-life products such as tinned food more often, with 17 percent saying they have been eating more tinned food since the Covid-19 outbreak started.

Nearly seven in 10 people said the outbreak had encouraged them to waste less food at home.
Coronavirus also appears to have created a long-term interest in cooking and baking as more than half plan on cooking more from scratch post-Covid-19 than they did before. Some 2,000 people across Britain were surveyed during April and May.

https://theecologist.org/2020/jun/09/appetite-vegan-diets-growing

Applewood owner Norseland launches spicy Mexicana Vegan cheese

From thegrocer.co.uk

Cheese supplier Norseland has further expanded its plant-based repertoire with a first vegan variant for its Mexicana brand.

Produced in association with Heather Mills’ V Bites brand, the coconut-based Mexicana Vegan follows the successful launch of Norseland’s Applewood Vegan last autumn and a new Applewood Vegan slices variant, which is due to go on sale in Sainsbury’s next week.

The product will go on sale exclusively in about 300 Asda stores nationwide from 20 July (rsp: £2.30/200g). It contained the same “fiery” spice mix and real bell and jalapeño peppers as its dairy-based Mexicana cousin, Norseland said, and was fortified with vitamin B12 and calcium.
The “quick melting” vegan cheese was free from lactose, milk, eggs, soya, nuts and gluten, it added.

                    Source: Norseland  The launch follows the success of Norseland’s                                                      Applewood Vegan last year, which sold out after going on sale in Asda 

After Applewood Vegan sold out of 40% of the Asda stores that initially stocked it in its first three days on sale, the brand’s success proved there was “a real demand for vegan alternatives to cheese, not just from vegans, but from flexitarians too”, said senior brand manager Lisa Harrison.

“What was key in its popularity was how well it melts like its dairy cheese counterparts,” she added. “We applied the same logic to the creation of Mexicana Vegan and our taste panel of spicy cheese enthusiasts are already hooked on it, because it’s super-stringy when it melts and has all of the flavour of Mexicana – including a spicy kick.”

Vegan cheese continued to grow in popularity, added Asda cheese buyer Laura Sparkes. “We love the spicy flavour and know our customers will agree. It is hard to believe this is a dairy alternative.”

https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/plant-based/applewood-owner-norseland-launches-spicy-mexicana-vegan-cheese/645153.article

Veganuary Co-Founder Launches Not-For-Profit Vegan Investment Fund

From greenqueen.com.hk

A new vegan investment fund, Veg Capital, has just been launched by vegan entrepreneur and co-founder of the plant-based campaign Veganuary Matthew Glover. Veg Capital will provide funding to plant-based and cultivated companies working on slaughter-free food substitutes, and all of its profits will be donated to animal welfare charities in Europe and the United Kingdom.

Veg Capital will provide Angel, Seed and Series A funding to start-ups and entrepreneurs who are working in the alternative protein space, including plant-based and cultivated food techs working on meat, seafood, dairy and egg substitutes.

Investments by the early-stage private venture fund will range from US$62,960 to 314,800, with room to consider larger investments for the “right opportunity”. All profits generated by the fund will be donated to charities in the United Kingdom and Europe who are working on animal protection and conservation.

Glover, who will lead as managing director, says that the mission of Veg Capital is ethical and environmental – to reduce our burden on our climate-stricken planet and save animal lives while creating a food system that is sustainable, healthy, and resilient to crises.

“Our aim is to drive up the supply of vegan foods while driving down demand for animal products – we invest in plant-based foods and then through our philanthropy help raise awareness and increase demand for that food,” said Glover. “It’s a double whammy of activism.”

Cliff and Simi Johnson will also be leading the team as financial advisor and investor relations respectively, and will bring in their experience as co-founders of their own plant-based investment fund Johnson Resolutions. Nimesh Shah, who operates as a finance director to multiple start-ups in the plant-based world, will act as Veg Capital’s accountant and advisor.

Already, Veg Capital has provided funding to eight food techs in the alternative protein space. These include Leeds-based Mighty Pea, whose yellow split pea-based milk is stocked in some of the biggest supermarket chains such as Sainsbury’s and M&S, 100% plant-based online supermarket and subscription service TheVeganKind, and vegan tuna brand Good Catch, who has recently reeled in a number of celebrity investments.

Interest in plant-based eating has been steadily increasing over recent years, but it has become  a real focal point amidst the coronavirus pandemic, which has shed light on the vulnerabilities of our current food system, from slaughterhouse viral outbreaks to the link between industrial animal agriculture and rising pandemics.

Consumers have responded by purchasing more plant-based food than ever before. According to data commissioned by SPINS in the United States, plant-based food sales have jumped a whopping 90% at the peak of the panic-buying in March and April compared to the same period last year. Sales of vegan meat in particular grew a whopping 280% in the country.

In Hong Kong, food delivery operator Deliveroo released statistics showing a 100% year-on-year increase in vegan food orders, with 20% of the spike coming in the first few months of 2020 when the pandemic hit the city.

With investor interest in big meat growing increasingly shaky, more are looking to put their money into alternative protein companies. According to a new report by the Good Food Institute (GFI), start-ups in the space raised a whopping US$930 million in the first quarter of this year alone.

“Investment in this space remains strong despite Covid-19, with several plant-based meat companies raising significant funds recently,” commented Glover.
“It is no surprise then that the number of investors in this sector is also on the rise and Veg Capital welcomes the opportunity to collaborate and co-invest with other like-minded funds and individuals.”

https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/veganuary-co-founder-launches-not-for-profit-vegan-investment-fund/

Healthy Vegan Noodle Pho

From vegnews.com

This take on the classic Vietnamese brothy noodle soup takes just 15 minutes to prepare

This simplified recipe from The Simply Real Health Cookbook is inspired by traditional pho and features anti-inflammatory spices and zucchini noodles as the base. To make it even more satiating, add seasoned fried tofu to before serving. 

What you need:

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 carrots, diced
1 jalapeño, seeds removed and chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 star anise pods
2 zucchini, spiralized into noodles
1 handful chopped basil

What you do:

1. In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, warm oil. Add carrots and jalapeño, and stir until lightly browned. Add broth, ginger, turmeric, salt, pepper, and star anise to pot. 
2. Turn heat to high and add zucchini noodles. Cook for 3 minutes until noodles are cooked through, garnish with basil, and serve.

https://vegnews.com/2020/6/healthy-vegan-noodle-pho

Meera Sodha's vegan recipe for crispy fried rice with cucumber, peanut and herb salad

From theguardian.com

Addictively crisp and chewy hard-fried rice is mixed with an eye-wateringly punchy, sweet, sour and crunchy salad

  Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay

Out of failure often comes a lot of washing-up and, occasionally, a better dish than I had originally planned. This was meant to be a take on the Laotian dish nam khao, made using rice balls mixed with Thai red curry paste, among other ingredients, and fried. It didn’t work out (let’s not talk about it). But what did arise, quite happily, out of the ashes of that recipe was this one, in which I’ve hard-fried day-old rice until addictively crisp and chewy, and mixed it with an eye-wateringly punchy, sweet, sour and crunchy salad.

Crispy fried rice with cucumber, peanut and herb salad

The key to successful crispy rice is day-old, fridge-cold rice. That either means using leftover rice or starting this dish the day before. If you’re using leftover cooked rice, you’ll need 1kg, but given that most people won’t have that much to hand, I’ve written the recipe assuming you’re starting from scratch (if you do have cooked rice, adjust the quantities in the recipe according to how much you have). To transform this from lunch into dinner, add a few slices of fried and seasoned tofu to the mix. 

Prep 10 minCook 45 min (including pre-cooking the rice)
Serves 4

For the rice
350g jasmine rice (or 1kg leftover cooked rice)
1½ tsp salt
4 tbsp sunflower oil (I like Mr Organic’s)
12 spring onions, finely sliced

For the salad
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1-2 bird’s eye chillies (to taste), finely chopped
2½ tsp caster sugar
4 tbsp lime juice (ie, from 2 or 3 limes)
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 cucumber, deseeded and diced
125g edamame beans, defrosted
5 tbsp (or 50g) salted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 handful coriander leaves (10g), roughly chopped
1 handful mint leaves (10g), roughly chopped

If you’re cooking the rice from scratch, put it in a sieve and rinse under a cold tap until the water runs clear. Tip the rice into a pan, add 600ml freshly boiled water and bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat to a whisper and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the rice to steam with the lid on for another five minutes, then spoon and spread out on a couple of plates, leave to cool completely, transfer to a container, seal and put in the fridge until needed.

Warm the oil in a large saucepan (for which you have a lid) over a medium-high heat and, once hot, add the spring onions and fry, stirring, for two minutes. Add the rice and salt, gently mix to combine, then press down with a fish slice to even out the top.

Leave to cook for six to seven minutes, then use the fish slice to turn the rice, and repeat the process twice more, until it starts to turn golden brown in places – the rice will take about 20 minutes to get a good level of crispiness, but if you have the time, keep going while you make the salad, to get it extra-crispy.

While the rice is frying, make the salad. Whisk the garlic, chilli, sugar and lime juice in a bowl, add the cucumber and all the remaining ingredients and toss to coat.

Put the rice on a serving plate and pile the herby, nutty salad in the centre, but only do this just before serving, or your newly crisped rice will go soggy.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/jun/06/meera-sodha-vegan-recipe-crispy-fried-rice-cucumber-peanut-herb-salad

Birds Eye launches vegan sausage rolls

From veganfoodandliving.com

Frozen food specialists Birds Eye has launched its first fully vegan sausage roll in its plant-based Green Cuisine range

We might not be able to get our Greggs sausage roll fix right now, but Birds Eye is helping vegans to get their pastry fix as it launches vegan sausage rolls in its Green Cuisine range.
The plant-based pastry features a pea protein filling encased in a flaky puff pastry and has been developed to ‘replicate the much-loved succulent taste and texture of traditional Birds Eye Homebake frozen sausage rolls’.

A four-pack of Birds Eye’s Meat Free Sausage Rolls is currently priced at just £1.50 or 38p per sausage roll in Sainsburys, making them a cheaper option that Greggs’ sausage roll too.

In a statement sent to Vegan Food & Living, Anne-Marie Gayer, Senior Brand Manager at Birds Eye said: “We know that sausage rolls are one of the nation’s favourites snacks, so we wanted to create a meat-free version that perfectly replicates the taste and texture of high-street outlets, but with the convenience of being able to cook at home straight from the freezer.

“As the pastry is only cooked once, it results in a lighter and flakier pastry compared to just warming through a chilled sausage roll. We’ve also ensured that our recipe has the perfect ratio of seasoned vegan sausage to flaky pastry. We can’t wait to hear what people think.”

Inspired by the popularity of Gregg’s sausage roll, retailers and brands have been keen to tap into the success with the launch of their own vegan sausage rolls.

Marks & Spencer estimates that it sells roughly five thousand packs of its Plant Kitchen No Pork Sausage Rolls every week, and large pastry companies including Ginsters and Walls have launched their own versions.

https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/products/birds-eye-launches-vegan-sausage-rolls/

Re:Nourish launches new vegan soup flavours

From foodbev.com

Vegan soup brand Re:Nourish has recently added two new flavours to its offering. Fuel – Yellow Split Pea & Tumeric Daal and Energy – Pea, Basil & Lemon are now available online and in stores.
The range now includes five flavours, with the addition of Immunity – Kale, Spinach & Turmeric, Calm – Tomato, Basil & Passion Flower, and Digest – Roasted Carrot & Ginger.

Re:Nourish’s soups are high in protein and contain up to half the recommended daily intake of fibre.
Designed using heatable, recyclable, grab-and-go bottles these soups are both convenient and sustainable. They can also be enjoyed without the need for utensils, can be eaten warm or cold, and frozen for up to three months.
RRP £2.89.

https://www.foodbev.com/news/renourish-launches-new-vegan-soup-flavours/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=287fe82ff98243ddcee741c54be252824f2fb153-1591255943-0-AZsNm-4-3JIk57_pUR9AxsINGA80hp_CQGrvarjxYaKgvv6YeakfF9biWcM5sgwwnHnbtVGy3XQPA1j_HKADkH_DfqrBjXQWMAZUl2XFdicC_329SZklFIeNT7W_gXLCcf4SmPMAa--WJotFFtuqjvcu5E03SMKx0KrUHmLFhqq_sQ4ocGoO4c07O7FGrpG32ZzFPr7LPIS9eFHpVcpGHvxP2Lttn_JSfeGHalvDl0d0E0-CU3cWrCkx9LFUSOWz5TtpxLpGMavCzkPJ09oEa3BqbCDjJRxu7bcv9EDnNu7wFC7FJ7X7QZHIHxDpki8R6a8gDaj9Um2rawLS85lC9AQ