World Vegetarian Day, October 1, is the annual start of Vegetarian Awareness Month. Between looking for a more ethical way of eating, following the advice of health professionals to reduce cholesterol and celebrity endorsements of the lifestyle, vegetarianism is now very much mainstream. Veganism isn’t too far behind, and many consumers who’ll never entirely embrace these lifestyles are happy to look at vegetarian options in an effort to improve their health.
The vegetarian category is worth $11.9m (MAT to 27/7/14) in New Zealand and this is +7.4% up on MAT last year and +20% up on MAT to 29/7/12. In the last two years the value of the category has increased by $2m (source: Aztec).
To find out more about nationwide events celebrating Vegetarian Awareness Month in New Zealand visit www.vegetarian.org.nz .
Read about the latest trends in vegetarian, vegan and organic products in the October edition of FMCG Business magazine. Email subscriptions@intermedia.com.au to subscribe, or visit www.fmcgbusiness.co.nz for more information.
