Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Quorn plunges into loss as consumers shift away from plant-based meats

The maker of the meat alternative Quorn dived £15.5 million into the red last year amid soaring costs and a slowdown in sales at supermarkets, stated recent report, suggesting an overall slowdown in plant-based meats.

Middlesbrough-based Marlow Foods said sales to supermarkets and other retail outlets slid 4.3 per cent last year, while total sales rose only 1.3 per cent to £228m because of higher sales to takeaway groups and restaurants after the end of Covid lockdowns. The growth was well behind inflation, indicating that the volume of items sold fell.


The volume of Marlow’s Quorn and Cauldron items sold in supermarkets plunged almost 11 per cent and 23 per cent respectively in the year to 15 July, according to Nielsen IQ data published by the Grocer trade journal in its latest report on the sector.

Marco Bertacca, the chief executive of Quorn Foods, said there had beenhuge changes in consumer behaviour and turbulence in the global economy” last year, with inflationary pressure on costs, particularly on energy, glucose and egg albumen needed for its products, having “a significant impact” on the company.

“We always seek to insulate our consumers from the impact of higher costs and to protect the affordability of our food where possible, but these dynamics pushed our business into a loss for the year,” Bertacca said.

He said that by launching new products, including selling vegetarian and vegan chicken products in the fast-food chain KFC across Europe, Quorn had been able to increase its share of the market and extend distribution of its products.

Quorn is the latest meat-free producer to reveal sobering figures.

Today's news follows similar reports of Beyond Meat in August, when the plant-based meat maker lowered its annual revenue forecast after quarterly sales slumped by almost a third.

The vegan specialists, including Meatless Farm of Leeds and Lincolnshire-based Plant & Bean, which supplied companies including Quorn and Tesco’s Wicked Kitchen, called in administrators earlier this year as they battled lacklustre sales and hefty cost increases.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s Oatly, the Swiss food company Nestlé and the London-based Innocent Drinks, which is owned by Coca-Cola, are among those that have pulled vegan products from sale in the UK this year.

More for you

Illegal vape seizures in Essex surge by 14,000%, highlighting the growing black market and calls for stricter regulations

Essex sees shocking 14,000 per cent surge in illegal vape seizures

Essex has seen a staggering rise of over 14,000 per cent in illegal vape seizures in the past 12 months, a new report has revealed.

The shocking figures place the county just behind the London Borough of Hillingdon for total seizures - which leading industry expert, Ben Johnson, Founder of Riot Labs, attributes to its proximity to Heathrow airport.

Keep ReadingShow less
long-term effects of vaping on children UK study
Photo: iStock

Vaping: Government begins decade-long child health study

Britain will investigate the long-term effects of vaping on children as young as eight in a decade-long study of their health and behaviour, the government said on Wednesday.

The government has been cracking down on the rapid rise of vaping among children, with estimates showing a quarter of 11- to 15-year-olds have tried it out.

Keep ReadingShow less
United Wholesale Dominates 2025 Scottish Wholesale Achievers Awards

Scottish Wholesale Achievers Awards

Scottish Wholesale Association

Scottish wholesalers celebrated at annual awards

United Wholesale, JW Filshill and CJ Lang & Sons emerged as the stars of Scotland wholesale world in the recently held annual Scottish Wholesale Achievers Awards.

Achievers, now in its 22nd year and organised by the Scottish Wholesale Association, recognises excellence across all sectors of the wholesale industry and the achievements that have made a difference to individuals, communities and businesses over the last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
Self-checkout tills at UK grocery store

Self-checkout at grocery store

iStock image

Debate heats up as community group calls to boycott self-checkouts

While a community group recently criticised self-service checkouts, saying automation lacks the "feel good factor", retailers maintain that rise in the trend is a response to changing consumer behaviour and the need of the hour.

Taking aim at self-checkouts in stores, Bridgwater Senior Citizens' Forum recently stated that such automation is replacing workers and damaging customer service.

Keep ReadingShow less