For Quorn, the leading food manufacturer of high-protein meat substitutes, vegan meat is doing better than ever. Quorn’s subsidiary, Marlow Foods, generated sales of over £200 million in 2017. Marlow Foods thus recorded an increase in sales of 16.2% over the previous year. Following the successful financial year, Quorn has announced that the meatless company will make a major investment in research and development of vegan products.
The UK-based brand generated a very large percentage of its total sales in its own country. As a result, sales in the United Kingdom alone rose by 10.3 percent year-on-year to 152.3 million. Chief Financial Officer James Harvey notes that strong sales have also been recorded in overseas markets. In line with the growing vegan population and in view of investments in increasing the efficiency of its supply chain, Marlow Foods’ sales increased in the USA, Australia, and in Europe, for example in Scandinavia and Germany. Of total sales, £20.3 million are distributed across other markets around the globe. With sales of £31.8 million, Europe is Marlow Foods’ second largest market after the UK. There is uncertainty about the development of growth in the European market due to Brexit. As negotiations have not yet been concluded, it is difficult to predict the future of this market.
Based on social popularity and increasing demand for meatless products, Quorn has announced a major investment of £7 million in a new research and development centre for vegan products.
