Vegan food is on average 14 percent more expensive than non-vegan alternatives. The British retail chain Co-op, with 2,500 stores in the UK, now intends to try to change that. The cooperatively owned chain will therefore invest 1.7 million pounds (close to 20 million kronor) to reduce the price of its own vegan GRO products. The investment will make it possible to lower the price of 29 vegan products, according to a press release.
Vegan sausages, burgers and minced meat, amongst other products, will be half as expensive as today. Vegan sausages that currently cost £ 3 will cost £ 1.45. This means that the vegan sausages will be in the same price span as meat sausages. As the GRO products are also available in other stores than Co-op’s, customers in 6000 stores can buy the vegan products at a lower price.
“Unfair price difference”
With the price reduction, Co-op hopes that more people will choose vegan, at least once a week. This in turn will help the chain reach the goal that all food and beverages they sell should be carbon neutral by 2025.
““It’s an industry-wide standard that plant-based alternatives are usually priced higher than their meat and dairy counterparts. At Co-op, we believe it shouldn’t cost you more money to eat plant-based food and that this disparity is unfair to those following vegetarian, vegan and flexitarian diets” says Jo Whitfield, CEO of Co-op in a press release.
According to The Guardian, vegan food is often more expensive than meat and dairy products. The British spent 549 million pounds on vegan sausages and burgers alone last year. If Co-op can lead the rest of the industry to large price reductions, it is likely that more vegan food products will be sold.
“This is brilliant news from Co-op, and we support any move that makes plant-based food more accessible with fewer barriers to purchase. Eating a plant-based diet is one of the best things you can do to help reduce your carbon footprint and it’s delicious.” says Lynne Elliot, CEO of the Vegetarian Society in an article.
