Quorn driving success for the ‘vegan high street’

Quorn’s game changing protein contributes to a record-breaking Veganuary, with nationwide rollout of KFC’s vegan burger and another sell-out for Greggs

31st January, 2020- Following a hugely successful Veganuary, with a record 350,000 UK consumers taking part, Quorn Foods has been powering the high street across multiple retailers with arguably the best protein available for vegans, vegetarians and meat-reducers alike.

A year after the launch of the famous Vegan sausage roll, Greggs debuted the Vegan Steak Bake (VSB) featuring bespoke Quorn vegan pieces. The high street giant has claimed that the popularity of the item has been bigger than expected. According to YouGov BrandIndex data, Greggs’s Vegan Steak Bake launch has been one of the most successful Veganuary new product releases this year.¹

On the same day, there was the return of KFC’s pilot sell-out, the Vegan Burger, now permanently on-menu nationwide. The burger features a unique Quorn Vegan Fillet, coated in the Colonel's Original Recipe. Quorn also launched into leading coffee retailer, Costa Coffee providing Vegan Smoky Ham for their vegan toastie available across an impressive 800 outlets. Other Quorn collaborations include Pizza Hut, Wetherspoons and Stonegate Pubs. It comes at a time when Deliveroo have reported a 330 per cent jump in plant based orders.

Some critics may wonder why these retailers are so keen to collaborate with Quorn. The reasons are simple, it’s the best-known meat free brand in the UK², with 1 in 4 people eating it on a regular basis, and it has a proven track record of providing delicious products that replicate their favourite foods, helping people to adopt meat free diets. So, these collaborations help people who are meat reducing, do it in their favourite food outlets, enjoying the food they love…simple.

Quorn recently launched a new above the line campaign, ‘A Step in the Right Direction’, with the aim of helping consumers to reduce their carbon footprint through their favourite meals. 60 per cent of Quorn’s product volume is now carbon-labelled ‘farm to fork’, the first meat free food manufacturer in the world to take the leap.

Hot on the heels of these launches, this month YouGov announced its annual Buzz Rankings for 2019³ – which saw Quorn ranked #1 across all brands tracked in the chilled/frozen foods sector for the second year running, a direct result of the work Quorn has done in 2019 to broaden its portfolio.

Peter Harrison, Chief Commercial Officer, Quorn Foods says:

“We are helping consumers to enjoy delicious meat free foods in the high street and the consumer response and subsequent sales across the likes of KFC, Gregg’s and Costa proves that we are doing something right. Whatever motivation the consumer has for meat reducing, it will be much easier to do, if great quality and well-known meat free products are available in their favourite food outlet, whether you are buying your morning coffee, lunch on the run through to your weekend takeaway.

“We’re collaborating with more food providers, as we all are working towards a common goal of delicious everyday affordable meat free meals.”

The Quorn website now features a NEW easy Eating Out hub, listing restaurants that have a Quorn collaboration, so that you can find a delicious vegan option when you’re on the go.

For more information please contact quorn@taylorherring.com or 0208 206 5151

¹ https://yougov.co.uk/topics/food/articles-reports/2020/01/13/veganuary-do-brands-benefit

²Quorn Brand Awareness 88% (YouGov January 2020)

³https://www.brandindex.com/ranking/uk/2019-buzz/category/chilled-frozen-foods