Colchester: Vegan Business Boom
“If you wanted to make money you wouldn’t open a vegan business, you’re still a minority”
There are 3.5 million vegans living in the UK according to a survey by comparethemarket.com. 7 percent of the population has chosen to adopt a plant-based diet and cut all animals products from their wardrobe.
It isn’t just big cities who are benefiting from this influx of choice, it can be seen on a local level in emerging town such as Colchester, Essex.
Four years ago, there wasn’t a vegan restaurant insight and now there are three dedicated vegan restaurants in Colchester. This invasion was started by The Den At Twenty Three on Crouch Street. Owned by Jen and Rob Dunn, they state, “We are on a mission to show that vegan food options don’t have to stop at salad, hummus or jacket potatoes! Instead expect juicy burgers, cheesy toasties, decadent cakes and frothy coffees!”
But all good things come to an end and The Den moved out of Colchester and became mobile restaurant in and around Ipswich. The Den opened in 2015, when veganism was only just making a breakthrough into mainstream.
In 2019, the vegan boom is definitely upon us!
Shakers Dairy Free, an American diner on Eld Lane run by Alex and Kev Coulter has been the hotspot for amazing vegan food for nearly two years. Even though veganism is on the rise with the meat-alternative market expected to be worth $5.2 billion in 2020 according to research, your heart has to be in it to succeed.
(would not allow me to embed, but here’s the link to their amazing insta!)
Shakers has opened up a whole new customer base, with lactose intolerance also being a problem, has leaving out the scary ‘V’ word helped business?
“To start with, we started with just milkshakes. So, we only doing dairy free stuff. It was a conscious effort not to include “vegan” as it puts people off and there is a stigma against it. [Veganism] has just exploded at the beginning of the year with Veganuary!”
Veganuaryis a charity which encourages people to do vegan for the month of January, and hopefully beyond.
“Not including the word vegan has definitely helped us! If you wanted to make money you would not open a vegan café, because you’re still a minority. You have open a café for the right reasons.”
Colchester is Britain’s oldest recorded town, has a population of nearly 200,000 and this continues to grow as new housing developments arise. All these people will certainly help with the supply and demand of amazing vegan food.
Kev Coulter proposed the idea of opening a milkshake bar to his wife Alex, “It was all my hubby’s idea! My daughter had been vegetarian six years before I was vegan, so it made my change easy. I stopped cooking meat and animal products in my house. We found it’s easy to go out and eat vegetarian but being vegan was tricky – where can you get dairy-free milkshakes? So that’s how it came about!”
Shakers is a force to be reckoned with, with an amazing selection of 23 flavours of milkshakes and mouth-watering burgers. They have a very bright future. So bright that they have been approached for an exciting opportunity, “we have been approached by the USA…to open a store in Miami! Which is amazing, just need to find a US business partner, it’s complicated but amazing.”
Nationally, the effect has made an impact too. Toby Carvery, what was once seen as non-vegetarian-friendly establishment, let alone vegan, has a whole plant-based menu! This now means vegans across the country can enjoy a roast with the family without having to have just broccoli!
Sainsbury’s has introduced a whole new range, including Shroomdogs which is the closest texture to meat I’ve tried in a veggie alternative but still veggie enough to not put you off. These come in a variety of flavours, including chorizo style which makes paellas so much better! Supermarkets had an 18 per cent increase in meat-free sales which equates to £474.5million.
M&S launched Plant-Based Kitchen in late December 2018, and this saw over 580,000 new customers flock to the stores! M&S describe their range, “whether you’re going veggie, avoiding meat and dairy, or simply enjoy incorporating more plant-based foods into your diet”.
Greggs introduced the Vegan Sausage Roll just in time for Veganuary 2019. This helped Greggs’sales top £1billion and in 2020 there is even talk of a vegan Steak Bake….
There is a vast selection of vegan food available nationally but now more importantly locally. There is now so much choice for people, whether you’re vegan or willing to try. 2019, has been the boom that all vegans have been waiting for, supermarkets now having whole ranges of vegan food means it’s no longer just vegetables and grains! There is an exciting food revolution occurring which is going to benefit everyone involved. The planet, your health and animals.
Veganism is here to stay.
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