Market has whet South Africa's appetite for vegan products and it may not be a passing trend

First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.

Robyn Horwitz, the owner and director of Gauteng-focused online retailer Vegan Things, says that while they have been operating for under a year, their business has grown very quickly, with more than 60% of customers returning. “This is a growing industry and we are just at the beginning!” she says.

Horwitz has also been involved in supplying restaurants and helping them to develop more vegan recipes for their menus.

She says that the response from restaurateurs to this has been very positive. “They recognise that this is not a passing trend and they want to be more inclusive to attract more customers.”

The appetite for vegan products seems to be growing overall, but the market has taken a knock during the economic pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic. Dave Asher is the director of VFoods, the first exclusive importer of vegan food products, starting in 2012, and he says that business is down about 30% compared with the previous year because of restrictions and lower consumer spending.

Overall, Asher says there has been a significant uptick in the last decade, and they no longer have to convince buyers that vegan products will sell, as they used to. However, he says some retailers or buyers have simplistic approaches to vegan products. “This attitude will ultimately lead to their downfall as other more aware retailers overtake their market share by ensuring consumers buying plant-based products, who are not all vegans, have as much choice as possible.”

Local production is also under way, with companies such as Afriplex developing concept solutions focused on taste and usability, for instance of vegan cheese. A recent media release explains: “While consumers are actively trying to reach for more non-animal-derived alternatives, they are resistant to compromise on the sensory experience provided by their dairy counterparts.”

Horwitz says while the market is definitely expanding, the focus should be on quality and authenticity at a good price point, and not too much replication. “We don’t need 100 different oat milks in SA – our market is too small for that amount of competition.”  Big retailers have also jumped on the trend. A spokesperson for Woolworths explains that the retailer introduced soya products as early as 2008 and clearly indicated where products were suitable for vegetarians and vegans. “Through the years our vegan product offering has expanded in response to customer demand,” Woolies says. “Between 2016 and 2018 we step-changed our focus on plant-based solutions in response to the shift we saw as a result of this global culinary mega trend.”

However, this does not mean that the move towards vegan products is always easy to make. The Woolworths team says that it is aware that customers would like both gummy sweets and desserts that are not made with gelatine, but so far are only able to stock the former.

The buyers of these products differ in their motivations. Horwitz says: “We have a varied customer base, from people who have been vegan [for] a long time, to new vegans, to people who are cutting down on the amount of animal products they consume, to others [who] are lactose-intolerant and looking for dairy-free options.” Asher agrees that those consuming vegan products are not necessarily completely vegan and this should be considered.

Asher adds that the market is “still in its infancy, with not nearly enough money invested in [research and development] to develop world-class vegan food products made locally in SA”. He hopes that once the country is able to produce vegan products at international quality and price points, it will help the market explode. “Every day more people are consuming and purchasing more vegan products and this will never stop. It can only grow bigger, and those who are following this know that.” DM168

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper which is available for free to Pick n Pay Smart Shoppers at these Pick n Pay stores.