Veganuary 2023: innovation in food-to-go and eating out

2022 saw record Veganuary numbers, with over 629,000 sign ups across 228 countries and territories via the official Veganuary website.

In our most recent research into plant-based shoppers on ShopperVista, we found that the proportion of plant-based shoppers is stabilising, with the future of plant-based looking more flexitarian and vegans remaining a small minority.

Despite stabilising numbers of shoppers, increased social pressure from consumers for brands to have more environmentally-friendly menu items has still resulted in a number of food-to-go and eating out establishments participating in Veganuary this year.

Here are eight of our favourites so far in 2023:

1. The Breakfast Club: a 100% vegan site for January

The Breakfast Club’s Berwick Street site has gone fully vegan and vegetarian this month. The ‘No Meat on Berwick Street’ campaign is running in partnership with plant-based brands La Vie and Redefine Meat. While the other sites will continue to serve meat, the partnership is being rolled out across all 13 sites throughout January, including menu items such as vegan fry-up, The Works.

2. Wagamama: combining Veganuary with charity efforts

Wagamama has combined its Veganuary efforts with its new charity partnership with The Bread and Butter Thing. The exclusive Veganuary dish – the vegan ‘chicken’ kare lomen – is available across all Wagamama restaurants and for delivery via Deliveroo. Sales of the special will enable Wagamama to support The Bread and Butter Thing in donating one million meals to low income families.

 3. Greggs: innovative NPD

In recent years, Greggs has been a best-in-class example of seasonal vegan items, creating vegan versions of its festive bake at Christmas and vegan hot cross buns. This Veganuary, they have added four new items to the menu – the vegan southern fried chicken-free baguette; vegan chicken-free goujons; warm winter vegetable soup; and vegan chicken-free Cajun roll, catering to customers looking for hot or cold options.

4. Marugame Udon: integrating Veganuary with its loyalty scheme

Marugame Udon has a longer-than-usual Veganuary campaign, running its limited-time vegan offerings until mid-February, which will help capture more plant-based customers after Veganuary and for the rest of the year. The chain has also combined the offerings with its loyalty scheme, offering members double stamps when ordering vegan dishes, providing further incentives for customers to go plant-based.

5. Burger King: incentivising vegan choices digitally

Similar to Marugame Udon, Burger King has been encouraging customers to buy plant-based through its loyalty scheme and digital channels. The new Vegan Royale Bakon King was launched on an app-exclusive buy one get one free offer, and adding a free side of six vegan nuggets with any UberEats order over £20.

Burger King has been a long-time supporter of plant-based diets, turning its Leicester Square restaurant fully vegan for a month last year and making vegan the default choice during a PR stunt in Vienna.

6. Asda: NPD in pre-packed food-to-go

Asda’s OMV! range offers meat-free meals and snacks, including four new sandwiches and wraps to-go, adding some much-needed excitement to the retail chilled food-to-go offering. The products are part of a range of 112 items to be available in the medium-term under the OMV! and Plant Based brands at Asda.

7. Las Iguanas: attracting spend in January through deals

January is historically a difficult month for eating out, with customers tightening their budgets after Christmas, and this looks to be the case even more so this year. Las Iguanas is celebrating Veganuary with 2-for-1 veggie and vegan mains from Sunday to Thursday throughout all of January, not only promoting vegan swaps, but helping make eating out more affordable for customers in January.

8. Ask Italian: focusing on the wider benefit

While this isn’t a Veganuary initiative, having been working with Foodsteps since last year, Ask Italian is using Veganuary to promote more sustainable choices through it’s ‘sustainable swaps’ and carbon emissions rating system – showing customers how to make more sustainable choices when eating out, focusing more on the long-term goals of sustainability rather than a short-term consideration.