February 5, 2020

Kantar - Supermarkets in the UK affected by vegan campaign

According to market researcher Kantar, the UK "Veganuary" campaign to reduce meat consumption in January resulted in sales declines among big four British supermarkets, reported Reuters.

Fraser McKevitt, Kantar head of retail and consumer insight said this is because consumers usually pledge to make healthy eating choices in the new year after an excessive festive period.

Grocery sales only increased 0.3% in the 12 weeks to January 26, 2020.The big four - Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda (owned by Walmart) and Morissons saw declining sales of 0.6%, 0.9%, 2.2% and 3.0% respectively.

The market researcher also noted a 1.0% increase in grocery inflation over the last two weeks, as prices have increased for bacon, sausages and cooked meat. However, fresh poultry and butter have seen prices fall.

The big four have lost market share to Aldi and Lidl, German-owned discount supermarkets who have reported increased sales of 5.7% and 11.1% respectively. Ocado, an online supermarket, is the UK's fastest growing supermarket with 11.2% increase in sales.

-      Reuters