Meatless Farm reports its biggest ever sales month with global retail sales up 92% year-on-year

Meatless Farm, one of the UK’s fastest growing plant-based meat brands, has reported an incredible 92% soar in global retail sales in January compared to the same period last year, making Veganuary 2021 the most successful month since its retail debut in 2018.

The increased awareness of the difference reducing meat consumption can make to the environment and consumers being more willing to experiment with new products and improve their wellbeing during lockdown is being credited with helping to drive sales to achieve their highest ever sales month.

Additionally, January saw Meatless Farm launch high profile partnerships with major high street chains, Leon, itsu and Pret. Meatless Farm transformed Pret’s iconic Swedish Meatball Hot Wrap into a vegan friendly option by replacing pork meatballs with its plant-based alternative.  The Meatless Meatball Hot Wrap was the first new product to become a top five best seller in launch week in Pret’s history. Fans pleaded for the meatless option to become a permanent fixture on Pret’s menu – 60% of customers campaigned for it to stay when asked in a ‘wrap off’ poll between the meatless and meat version on social media. Following the sensational demand, Pret has announced that the meatless option is here to stay.

In retail, Meatless Farm transformed its packaging with a full design refresh across its whole range, including mince, sausages and burger patties. The new packaging focuses on converting meat-eaters to the brand’s fresh products and features a call out for “Rich in protein” after 40% of meat-reducers said this was the most important consideration when choosing to try a plant-based product[1]. Products were also launched into 425 Sainsbury’s Local stores nationwide, responding to a rise in consumers choosing to shop at local retailers. Reports have found that a third of UK consumers say they have used local retailers more since the pandemic struck and eight out of ten of them aim to carry on shopping this way in the future[2].

Meatless Farm’s multi-touch point Veganuary campaign drove brand awareness through traditional advertising, social media, PR, influencer marketing, as well as retail activation and foodservice partnerships, including its launch of the “Make it Meatless” advertising campaign. The activity challenged the veggie establishment, to show that making it meatless isn’t what it used to be and inspiring consumers to reduce their meat consumption without compromise.

Morten Toft Bech, Founder, Meatless Farm said: “It’s clear all indicators are pointing towards a huge shift in consumers looking to incorporate more plant-based eating at the moment, so we were anticipating a busy month in January, but this exceeded all expectations.

“Consumers are latching on to the opportunities for both their health and that of the environment with plant-based eating, making it an increasingly mainstream movement to reduce the amount of meat you are eating. We know that these ‘meat-reducing’ consumers in particular want ease, access, convenience and most importantly taste and nutrition which is why we are constantly innovating with new products, twists on existing products and improvements to our recipes. Broadening our retail partnerships and working with leading food chains helps to ensure that plant-based options are easily accessible in as many places as possible and tempts more people to give them a go.

“These trends are certain to continue over the coming year, with 2021 widely anticipated to be something of a tipping point for plant-based eating, as a global focus on climate change action and a shift to a more carbon-conscious form of consumerism. Post-pandemic we predict to see a rise in mainstream ecotarian-driven “meat reducer” consumers, beyond traditional vegetarian and vegan markets.”

Just under 600,000 people* across the world signed up to take part in Veganuary 2021 with organisers reporting its biggest event to date.

Meatless Farm is listed in the big four UK supermarkets who stock its fresh plant-based mince, burgers and sausages and it has presence in the US through Whole Foods, as well as distribution in 24 other markets. Most recently, the brand launched in Germany, Holland and Denmark. Last year, the British firm also secured investment of £24m to fund its global expansion and is expecting to achieve global sales of $200m by 2023.