Unilever wants to significantly increase sales of vegan products

Food producer Unilever wants to increase the turnover of its vegan and vegetarian products to €1 billion in the coming years. In concrete terms, this means that the turnover of these plant-based meat substitutes and dairy alternatives must increase fivefold over the next 5 to 7 years.

The growth to a turnover of €1 billion must be achieved, among other things, by further rolling out the 'de Vegetarische Slager' brand. The producer took this business to an end December 2018 from Jaap Korteweg, then it was already good for a turnover of €20 million. The brand is now available in more than 30 countries and the company was selected as the supplier of Burger King's plant-based Whopper and Nuggets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In addition, food producer Unilever plans to introduce more vegan alternatives from brands such as Hellman's, Magnum and Ola in the coming years. "Another example is that there is a vegetarian variant for every Unox product: from the smoked sausage to the frankfurter," says a spokesperson at NU.nl.

Competition is increasing
The number of vegetarians and vegans in the Netherlands has increased by 2% in the past 150 years, according to research commissioned by the Vegetarian Association. The number of people who eat vegan every day is therefore 1,5%. In a population of 17,4 million people, that is 261.000 vegans. It means that competition in the market will increase further, Unilever acknowledges. "More and more parties are entering the market. Start-ups and so-called consumer goods companies, but also traditional meat producers are increasingly switching to vegetarian and vegan options," says Hugo Verkuil of Unilever.

A striking fact is that vegetarians are often associated with the Randstad. That is not correct. In the East of the Netherlands there are relatively most vegetarians: 4,9%. This percentage is lowest in the south of the Netherlands, namely 0,4%. Verkuil argues that you should above all offer products that fit in with how people cook today. "Then the consumer can just make a burger sandwich or spaghetti bolognese."

Future Foods
The goal to increase sales of Unilever's vegetarian and vegan products to €1 billion is part of the 'Future Foods' programme. "As one of the largest food producers in the world, we can play a significant role in changing the food system. It is not up to us to determine what people eat, but we can make healthier and plant-based alternatives more accessible," concludes Hanneke Faber, Unilever's President Foods & Refreshment.

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

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