Following a similar move by Sainsbury’s, Tesco has announced that larger stores will now display vegan burgers, sausages and other plant-based food in the meat aisle, as more and more people adopt meat-free options into their regular diet.
Tesco sells vegan brands including Heck, Vivaris, Beyond Meat, and Vegetarian Butcher. It may have been unthinkable just a few short years ago for plant based products to have displayed in the fridges alongside meat products, but in these times of pressure regarding climate change and sustainability, consumers are changing the market and figures have reflected that to show that over 21 per cent of British households have actively reduced their animal intake in the past two years (Kantar Worldpanel April 2018).
Tesco wants to play an active role in encouraging customers to eat less meat while enjoying more plant-based alternatives. The move is designed to make it easier for the growing number of flexitarians to access a variety of options. Selling this type of product alongside real meat has already proved very successful in America.
Derek Sarno, Tesco’s Director of Plant-Based Innovation, told Plant Based News: “The rise of eating more plant-based food and people becoming flexitarian is having a massive effect on the way many people shop and as a result, the retail industry is having to adapt. We are seeing a new kind of shopper – more conscious of their own health and the environment and perfectly happy to make dietary changes such as becoming vegan, vegetarian or flexitarian to achieve those aims. Plant-based alternatives in general have become so high in quality, that most life-long meat eaters are now including these foods as part of their diet. It makes sense to range them next to each other in the same aisle and bring a wider breadth of options available to choose from.”
