Vegan ready meals becoming cheaper than meat alternatives, survey finds

A new UK survey has discovered that the top UK retailers are making vegan ready meals increasingly available and cheaper than meat alternatives.

The survey, which was carried out by Eating Better in March 2021, revealed that plant-based meals are the fastest growing category.

Unsurprisingly, the survey found some of the top UK supermarkets had increased their plant-based range by a whopping 175%.

In the survey, it was reported that seven out of ten supermarkets offered plant-based meals that are cheaper than meat, making it more accessible to eat healthier and sustainably.

Who is the top UK supermarket for plant-based ready meals?

Eating Better, which aims to encourage consumers to eat “less and better” meat, examined 2,743 ready meals across the UK.

The findings indicated clear progress in the sector, with plant-based ready-meals availability in supermarkets having grown by 50% since 2018.

Examining the UK’s top 10 supermarkets, the survey found that Aldi had increased their plant-based meals by 175%.

Joining Aldi in the top spot was Tesco with and increase of 103%, while Co-op and Morrisons both saw an increase of over 60% increase.

Additionally, and arguably as important, the Eating Better’s survey suggested that vegan meals were cheaper per portion than meat alternatives.

Encouragingly, although 70% of the supermarket’s meals were found to be meat-based, the number has declined by 9% since 2018.

“Climate-friendly food should be mainstream and shouldn’t cost more.”

Eating Better’s Executive Director, Simon Billing, was delighted with the survey results, admiring the investment from supermarkets to make plant-based food more accessible.

Billing shared: “Climate-friendly food should be mainstream and shouldn’t cost more.

“Now, we need the same drive to continue reducing meat content across the ready meal ranges of all retailers.”

These results are so encouraging as it is vital that vegan options become more accessible and affordable to encourage more people to follow a plant-based diet.

There may be more vegan food available than you think!

Take a look at all the accidentally vegan products you can find in supermarkets