ASDA has recently announced a partnership with vegan concept creator, Kbox Global, to trial a supermarket vegan butcher counter named ‘Veelicious’. Situated at the supermarket’s Watford store, the counter will open in early 2021 on a six-month trial period to coincide with this year’s Veganuary. The service will offer a consistent vegan offering including ‘facon’, bean burgers, and meat-free meatballs.
The launch of ASDA’s vegan butcher counter comes as plant-based eating continues to grow in popularity. Having won ‘Vegan Retailer of the Year’ at the 2020 Q Awards, ASDA has seen an increase in online searches for ‘vegan’ on asda.com 175% YOY and simultaneously is forecasting vegan sales in January to increase +391% YOY.
With 22.1 million (34%)* of the UK population cutting down on meat and trying out ‘flexitarianism’, vegan products are becoming increasingly integrated into each of our everyday lives.
‘Veelicious’ will serve a range of meat-free alternatives such as mock lamb and vegan ‘black pudding’, as well as a small selection of vegan cheeses, ready-to-eat meal kits and a range of other vegan staples. In addition to the one-store vegan butcher trial, this Veganuary, ASDA has added 22 new meat-free alternatives to its Plant Based range.
Preyash Thakrar, Asda’s Chief Strategy Officer, comments: “The demand for vegan products is on the rise and we have seen a surge in people seeking out ways to easily enjoy a plant-based lifestyle. We recognised the importance of helping our customers with their Veganuary journey, which includes partnering with Kbox to trial Veelicious in our Watford store.
“Across our product range we offer many options for vegans and flexitarians, such as meat-free alternatives and vegan cheeses, ensuring that our customers don’t have to compromise on quality, taste or value when following a plant-based lifestyle. Veelicious will be a ‘test and learn’ trial to help us understand what resonates with customers to enable us to enhance our plant-based proposition.”
Salima Vellani, founder and CEO of Kbox Global, said: “Our partnership with Asda to launch the UK’s first vegan butcher is an exciting joint venture that recognises growing demand for plant-based brands, from meat eaters and vegans alike.
“Veganism is now a mainstream, healthy and environmentally sustainable way for anyone to eat. We are pleased to be working with one of the country’s leading supermarkets to give consumers more of what they are asking for.”
Image: Asda
