Veganuary – Keeping with the times

You’ve probably seen Veganuary plastered all over social media this month and it seems to be bigger and better than ever.
Unfortunately for some restaurants and takeaways, January isn’t the most lucrative of months. Most people are still recovering after emptying their pockets across the festive period. However, Veganuary is a good way to jump on the bandwagon and get more customers through your doors.

It’s important to bring some diversity to your business. Whilst it may not suit your restaurant or takeaway to launch a whole new menu, the good news is that most vegan substitutes will have a longer shelf-life than fresh meat or fish.

Over 500 businesses took part last year developing new recipes and menus. All the major food chains are releasing new and successful products for Vegans such as Greggs’ Vegan Sausage roll and Vegan Steak Bake. Greggs have linked the popularity of those products with an increase in sales and new customers, so if you market your new Vegan products right, you could see some new faces in your shop very soon. Greggs aren’t the only ones either, KFC have used Quorn fillets to create their iconic chicken fillet burger. Not only that but it also features Vegan Mayo, which is another option to think about. What are your options of dips and sides?

Catering for Vegans can be a niche market, but it’s predicted that around a quarter of the UK’s population will be Vegan in the next 5 years! It might be a slow start, but word will soon get around that your establishment caters for any kind of dietary requirements whilst still offering great quality and taste.

Combine that with just over 80% of Vegans struggling to find food options on the go, it might be a good idea to look at Vegan options after all.

Last year more than 200 new Vegan products and menus were launched for Veganuary and this year is no different. Buying Quorn’s Vegan Fish Fillets is a great and easy way to provide a Vegan option for the Nation’s favourite dish. You can pick up Quorn’s Vegan Fish Fillets from most supermarkets and can then fry them as and when the demand comes in. (Unless you fry using beef dripping!)

You might also consider using Tofu as a substitute, click the image below to find out how it’s done!

If trying to replicate the famous Fish & Chips isn’t something you’re keen on, you could turn your attentions to your pie supplier and see what Vegan options they can offer you. Pies are relatively common on the menu for most shops and having a few good Vegan pie options combined with chips and vegan friendly sauces on the side, you’re on to a winner, catering for any kind of customer looking to spend money in your shop.

If your frying range isn’t big enough to dedicate a pan specifically to Vegan or Gluten free, you can always get a solo or multi-unit for your business to solve this problem. However, depending on the age of your range and space of your shop, you might want to consider a new range entirely, with a separate filtration unit to avoid cross contamination.  If this is something that you’re interested in please get in touch.