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GS1 UK sees 50 per cent increase in members producing vegan products as movement celebrates 75th anniversary

Global standards organisation, GS1 UK, has seen the number of vegan specialist businesses joining its organisation rise by 50 per cent this year.

The vegan firms joining GS1 UK are also becoming more larger – registering a year-on-year increase in turnover of 35 per cent from 2018–19.

1 November was World Vegan Day, and 2019’s iteration is particularly momentous, marking 75 years since The Vegan Society began as an offshoot from The Vegetarian Society.

The Vegan Society estimates that the number of vegans in Great Britain increased by 300 per cent to 680,000 from 2014–18, and this has been reflected by the explosion of plant-based food and drink products entering the marketplace.

Recent GS1 UK joiners include Heavenly Organics, a natural, vegan and organic skincare and cosmetics line, Will’s Vegan Shoes, a company pushing the boundaries in apparel, and Visibly Vegan, a firm challenging established norms with their cruelty-free, vegan candles. Kings Grooming, a cruelty-free range of men’s toiletries that supports various mental health projects, also forms part of this growing segment.

Gary Lynch, chief executive of GS1 UK, said: “British consumers are more conscientious than ever about what they eat and where it comes from, and product data has a huge part to play in helping them make informed decisions about traceability, provenance and ingredients.

“Given our sizeable membership we are able to quickly identify trends across a number of industries and the explosion in veganism has been easy to spot across both our food and drink, health and beauty and membership.

“An increasing number of companies we deal with in these areas are responding to consumer demand, offering innovative alternatives.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Raoul Duke .