Released on = April 16, 2007, 9:30 pm

Press Release Author = Bharat Book Bureau

Industry = Marketing

Press Release Summary = The rising awareness and uptake of vegetarianism as a method
of addressing health related food scares (such as BSE/CJD) and animal cruelty
issues, plus the fact that broadening ranges of vegetarian products are bringing the
sector into the mainstream foods market, have resulted in the need for Key Note to
produce a new report on vegetarian foods.

Press Release Body =
Vegetarian Foods Market Assessment

The rising awareness and uptake of vegetarianism as a method of addressing health
related food scares (such as BSE/CJD) and animal cruelty issues, plus the fact that
broadening ranges of vegetarian products are bringing the sector into the mainstream
foods market, have resulted in the need for Key Note to produce a new report on
vegetarian foods. This report, which includes current retail sales data from
Information Resources and consumer purchasing data from National Opinion Poll (NOP)
Solutions, presents the most detailed and comprehensive study to date on the market.
Other important information sources used in compiling the report have been The
Vegetarian Society, the Realeat surveys from Haldane Foods, and government
publications detailing longer-term trends in meat eating.

The vegetarian foods market has been divided and surveyed in five main sectors,
namely ready meals (including snack meals), sausages/burgers/grills, bakery (pastry)
products, meat substitute ingredients, and other (largely delicatessen) products
such as sliceable meats, pâtés, pastes, etc. This breakdown largely follows previous
Key Note reports and, more importantly, the market categories of Information
Resources - whose data is recognised by the trade. It also answers a major challenge
faced by other report writers, that of presenting relevant and consistent data in
terms of products covered. Substantial retailer coverage of all major multiples
makes the inclusion of extra sales (estimated at 8-9% for sales through health food
shops, convenience stores, etc.) necessary to reach a total market size.

Changing priorities and price deflation resulting from strong competition, have
meant that any growth in household expenditure on food/drink has fallen behind other
areas, such as motoring and leisure services, in recent years. More significantly,
household spend on meat has been falling, principally with regard to beef and beef
sausage, which have been affected by health scares and lifestyle issues. The
decrease in meat consumption would have been greater had it not been for the growth
in poultry sales, and all decline will in part relate to the spread of
vegetarianism. This is supported by the fact that there is a greater fall in spend
on meat within younger age group households, and it is well proven that
vegetarianism is much stronger among the young (and particularly among females).
However, the culture will undoubtedly spread to older age groups in time, addressing
the challenge of a gradually `greying\' population comprising an increasing
proportion of over 35s.

The proportion of vegetarians is slowly increasing, with double the number of
females than males within the category. Although currently the proportion of
vegetarianism falls as age increases, there has been a flattening of the profile of
vegetarians within socio-economic groupings. This supports the trend towards a
mainstream market positioning for vegetarian foods, having originally held a niche
and AB position, strengthened by ever wider product ranges and distribution through
major multiple retailers.

Vegetarian foods, by no means all consumed by vegetarians, have tended to imitate
traditional meat, fish and other dishes in form - as ready meals, sausages and
burgers, crumb coated products such as grills and fingers, pastry bakery items such
as pies, cold meats and pâtés for salads, and even the ingredient mince. They were
largely visible originally in the frozen sector, but have grown more significant
recently in chilled foods. Frozen vegetarian foods accounted for nearly half of
market value in 1995, but only around 40% in 2000. The whole vegetarian foods market
grew relatively substantially in value terms in the early and mid-1990s, slowed in
1998 and 1999, and declined in 2000. To address this latest decline, several
manufacturers have added organic vegetarian foods to their existing ranges, which
are reportedly selling well.

Ready meals, including snack meals, account for the largest value share of the
market - currently, 45% of sales through multiples and Co-ops. This share is
expected to increase in future since the convenience of ready meals and their
variety fit in with current lifestyle changes such as fragmented family mealtimes
and the high proportion of working women. Ready meal ranges have moved from
traditional meals to the much more popular ethnic and pasta style dishes, with
growth being more significant in retailer own brand chilled products than in any
frozen dishes.

The sausages/burgers/grills sector, broadly the original vegetarian foods market, is
now fairly static in growth potential and the area of lowest forecast growth in
future. The sector holds a 21% value share of vegetarian foods sales through
multiples and Co-ops, and is much the strongest area for frozen products. It is also
a stronghold of brands, with the other major sectors - ready meals and bakery
products - being substantial growth areas for retailer own label.

Bakery products have proved a growing market sector, and one which is forecast to
produce medium growth in future. The sector also currently holds a 21% value share,
with many of the items (and all growth) being in the chilled area.

The smaller sectors of the vegetarian foods market appear to have held up better in
2000 than the larger ones. The meat substitute sector has held on to its 9% value
share, and the `others\' sector comprising largely sliceable `meats\' and pâtés, with
only a 4% value share of sales through multiples and Co-ops, has seen sales improve
in 2000 by some 39%.

Major food producers have now moved into the vegetarian foods market to become the
major suppliers. Heinz Frozen and Chilled Foods has become one of the most well
known since its acquisition in 1999 of the Linda McCartney brand (and Ross Young
non-meat products) from UB Foods. Unilever\'s Birds Eye Walls company is a major
player with its vegetable based burgers, fingers and other products, plus its
Meatfree ready meals. The Astra-Zeneca-owned Marlow Foods supplies a wide range of
its myco-protein Quorn brand products.

Other smaller but important (and often original) manufacturers are the Cavaghan and
Gray (Northern Foods) owned Dalepak, Rayner Foods Group\'s Cauldron Foods, Adm-owned
Haldane Foods, and the Israeli company Tivall. The vegetarian foods market also
comprises vegetable based and other products from the Nestlé frozen foods
manufacturer Findus, and the frozen sausages/burgers/grills company Freshbake, part
of Campbells Foods spin-off Vlasic. Many of these companies also produce for
retailer own labels.

Sales of vegetarian foods are forecast to continue to decline in 2001, admitting
market maturity but estimating a much slower decline than in 2000 due to the
positive effects of improved sales of organic and other products. Higher growth is
anticipated from the second half of 2002 onwards.


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