The latest data from Feed It Back, a customer feedback and online reputation specialist, has revealed that vegan-related reviews during the first three weeks of Veganuary in 2020 is more than double 2019’s figures.
Delving deeper into the statistics, the main drivers behind positive reviews mentioning ‘vegan’ during Veganuary 2020 are based around taste, with 16% of positive reviews referencing the word ‘delicious’.
This is closely followed by variety with ‘choice’ equating to 15% of all positive reviews and ‘price’ coming in third with 12%.
Feed it Back CEO Carlo Platia said: “Veganism was the stand-out trend of 2019, gathering significant momentum throughout the year and attracting the attention of new product development across the hospitality and retail industries.”
When analysing the negative reviews, on the other hand, the data disclosed that 11% of all negative ‘vegan’ reviews mentioned the word ‘breakfast’, followed by ‘burgers’ (7%), and ‘pizza’ at (2%).
Remaining dynamic
Platia continued: “Consequently, the figures reveal there has been a spike in consumer expectations around what constitutes quality vegan dishes and with more consumers opting to trial veganism during Veganuary, the trend shows no sign of slowing down.”
With statistics from market research firm Mintel revealing that one in four food products released in 2019 were vegan, the momentum built in Veganuary 2019 continued to drive new product and menu development over the past 12 months, which has impacted the expectations of consumers.
Platia continued: “While there’s been an increase in the amount of choice available to people adopting a vegan diet, there still remains work to be done on refining dishes at particular parts of the day, namely the breakfast day part.
“Staying close to the evolving trends of the hospitality industry and remaining dynamic to tracking, reviewing and analysing the performance of new dishes, not just on sales but also guest sentiment, is imperative to remaining competitive in the challenging high street market.”
