Sausage maker slashes meat-free range as appetite falls

Sausage company Heck is reducing its range of plant-based meat-free products, citing lack of consumer appetite, stated recent reports.

The Yorkshire-based firm is shelving production of most of its vegan range of sausages and burgers, stated BBC, with its co-founder Jamie Keeble saying that shoppers were "not there yet" when it came to buying its vegan products.

The company will now make just two plant-based varieties - chipolatas and burgers - down from its original range of 10. Heck's decision comes against a backdrop of waning interest in meat-free lines at other firms.

Heck is not the first maker to retreat his steps on plant-based production. Beyond Meat, which makes a plant-based range including burgers, sausages and chicken, suffered a slump in sales last year, blaming obstacles with consumers around taste, perception of health benefits and price.

Nestle also said in March it said it would stop selling its Garden Gourmet plant-based vegan brand in UK retailers less than two years after it first appeared on shelves.

However, market and consumer data provider Statista states that the meat-substitute market in the UK would grow annually by 17.53 per cent over the next five years.