Jan 31st, 2024
3 mins
Recent research conducted on behalf of the law firm Browne Jacobson has revealed that one in five UK adults have confused plant-based products with real animal products due to branding or labelling, with this rising to half (50%) of vegans and 36% of vegetarians.
Nearly a third of UK adults also say they are less likely to buy plant-based products if they resemble animal-based food. Half of those who follow a vegan diet (49%) would prefer plant-based foods to differentiate from animal-based products.
Furthermore, nearly two fifths of adults in the UK (38%) believe plant-based producers should not be allowed to name plant-based food products after their animals or animal product counterparts.
It is already a requirement for food producers and other food business operators responsible for food labelling to ensure that the labelling and marketing of their products is not misleading. And this report comes after much controversy in the EU and UK about the banning of animal product terms to describe plant-based food.
The survey was conducted over three days (from 24 – 28 of November 2023) to a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults, weighted to Office of National Statistics (ONS) criteria. The built-in demographics were by gender, age, region, and city.
You can read more here.
