Vegan charity Veganuary has released the final figures for its 2020 campaign, revealing 400,000 people signed-up, compared to 250,000 in 2019.
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We all knew that veganism was rising in popularity but today, Veganuary released the final figures of its hugely successful 2020 campaign. A whopping 400,00 people signed up, an astonishing rise compared to 250,000 in 2019 and exceeding the groups 2020 target of 350,000.
Participants of Veganuary this year included Queen legend Brian May, former Dragon Deborah Meadon and actor Rebecca Callard, all of whom enjoyed the month so much they plan to make permanent diet changes.
Throughout Veganuary, hundreds of new plant-based products and menu items were also launched, including the first Veganuary offerings from fast-food giants KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King. KFC sold one million vegan burgers in the first month they were on sale, and according to Deliveroo, orders of vegan dishes increased by 78%.
Sales of Hellman’s Vegan Mayo saw a growth of nearly 400 per cent in Tesco during Veganuary, while M&S’ Plant Kitchen No Chicken Kiev sold at a rate of four every minute since it launched on 2nd January.
Pizza Hut Restaurants saw similar results, with a spokesperson saying: “This January the number of guests trying a vegan pizza has almost doubled! (Compared to pre-Veganuary). Additionally, guests and teams have loved the Pepperphoni so much that it will make a return to our main menu from Feb 26th.”
Greggs commented: “The launch of our Vegan Steak Bake has been a huge success, even bigger than we had originally anticipated. Due to the success of the launch we’re now working on rolling the Vegan Steak Bake out to all shops as soon as we can.”
Reflecting on the 2020 campaign, Veganuary’s Head of Communications Toni Vernelli says: “With the link between animal farming and the climate crisis making headlines nearly every day we expected Veganuary 2020 to be the biggest yet, but it exceeded all of our expectations.
“We applaud everyone who took part and encourage them to continue eating vegan food as often as possible. And we’re grateful to all of the businesses embracing Veganuary and making it easier for more people to eat more plant-based food more often. Together we are making an enormous difference for animals and the planet.”
