Vegans will be enjoying the sweetest Christmas on record with a boom in
sales of plant-based confectionery.
The number of products on sale has leapt by 300 per cent to more than 220 different types of sweets from more than 30 brands over the last year.
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The surge in UK sales has been matched by unprecedented global expansion which values the market at almost £1 billion and growth predicted at nearly 12 per cent annually over the next five years.
“The vegan sweet market has really taken off this year and we are racing to keep up with demand,” says Alan Wiggett, Managing Director of Kingdom of Sweets, the UK’s fastest growing sweets retailer.
“Only a couple of years ago, you had to go into a health food shop to get vegan chocolate or a small range of plant-based sweets.
“But there are new products coming in every day and they taste amazing so they are popular across the board.”
Dairy-free chocolate is the biggest seller with fruit-flavoured sweets forecast to be a Christmas success.
The rise in ethical shopping and lifestyles has fuelled the boom and, although major sweet manufacturers are moving into the sector, a host of start-ups and small companies are producing attractive ranges of vegan sweets.
TV celebrity Jamie Laing, whose great-great grandfather created the McVitie’s digestive biscuit, runs a company called Candy Kittens that specialises in vegan sweets and partners with Kingdom of Sweets.
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Kingdom of Sweets, which has 15 High Street stores across the UK and sells sweets at major sporting events and concerts, has seen vegan sweets sales triple over the last year in the UK and around the world where it is expanding fast.
“It has been an astonishing growth and we are expecting this Christmas to be a tipping point where vegan sweets go mainstream,” adds Alan.
“We first stocked them 3 years ago as more of a novelty but they are definitely a front-line item now.
“People are trying them and coming back for more whether they are a vegan or not. It is fantastic that there is a growing range of products that satisfy all
tastes.”
Market analysts GrandViewResearch predict the global vegan confectionery market will grow by 11.8% each year to 2027.
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