Veganuary as a growth driver - why plant-based offers deserve priority

Every year millions of people all over the world are starting the year off with a purely vegetarian diet in the scope of Veganuary. Celebrities like Atze Schröder, Kerstin Ott, Maria Clara Groppler, Hannes Jaenicke and many, many more are supporting the campaign with their reach. Alone in Germany, in each of the past two years more than 1,000 companies from the trade, production, food service and communal catering sectors took part in Veganuary – including all the big retail chain stores. More than 740 new products and meals appeared on the supermarket shelves and on the menus of restaurants, canteens and university canteens in January 2025.

Every year, together with countless offers and campaigns as well as far-reaching advertising measures, Veganuary ensures that the selection of plant-based options grows, becomes more visible and more attractive - while shopping, in restaurants, at the place of work and en route. And this is having a measurable influence on consumer behaviour. According to the Federal Statistics Office, thanks to Veganuary, the meat consumption in the German retail trade has noticeably declined in January over the past years: In January 2024, the sales dropped by 12.5 percent compared to the previous year.

This is also becoming clearer beyond January too: Our eating habits have changed radically, a vegan diet has long since become mainstream. And this development is certainly not standing still: The Good Food Institute Europe (GFI) ascertained recently that 51 percent of adults in Germany intend to change their food consumption by either consuming less animal products and/or more plant-based options. The target group for plant-based product ranges is already huge. According to the GFI, 77 percent are reducing their meat consumption, don't eat meat or buy plant-based alternatives in spite of following an omnivore diet. Almost every third person (31 percent) turns to vegan options by force of habit.

From official international surveys we know from Veganuary participants, who use the 31-day e-mail series to help get them started with the vegetarian diet: A large majority of the respondents – around 80 percent – who didn't follow a vegan diet previously, still drastically reduce their consumption of animal-based products even six months after Veganuary. Over a quarter of the respondents remain completely vegan. The figures have been stable for years. The target group for the vegetarian market grows with every campaign.

The vegetarian food transformation is driving innovations and is causing forward-looking market movements that are changing the food industry positively. Now, it is our social and entrepreneurial task to drive these dynamics forward. Since those, who rely on plant-based options, are not merely serving a growing target group, but are actively shaping a food system that protects the climate, the environment, animals and our health – and thus an efficient food system that will also allow future generations to be sustainable. The food industry can only benefit from this. And Veganuary is precisely the right time of the year.

Thanks to the campaign, the participating companies can tap into new target groups, bind existing customers, align their brand to suit new expectations and consumer habits – and thus increase turnovers. In this way, for instance the Veganuary sponsor, Billie Green, recorded a 9.1 percent increase in turnover for the first four weeks of 2025, compared to the annual average for 2024.

The campaign offers a high-reach and cost-free way of bringing new products onto the market, establishing them and of promoting already available plant-based options and developing them into the standard. Particularly new plant-based versions or varieties of popular classics and iconic products are guarantees for a successful Veganuary campaign. Ferrero successfully launched famous new products onto the German retail trade in January 2025 in the form of vegetarian alternatives to "Nutella" and "Hanuta". Ikea Germany expanded the menu of the Swedish restaurants to include the vegan salmon alternative "Vikfilét". And Burger King let itself be inspired by the "McRib" of their rivals and expanded their product range in Veganuary to include the campaign burger "King Rib" - exclusively as a purely vegetarian variety and accompanied by a creative OOH campaign.

Long-term business commitments that prioritise vegetarian options additionally carry the effects of Veganuary way beyond January. Just in time for Veganuary 2025, the Veganuary sponsor, The Vegetarian Butcher, switched its entire product range for the German retail trade over to exclusively plant-based products. The mass catering company, Dussmann, has committed itself to offering at least 40 percent of its meals as purely vegetarian versions by 2030.

We are already working on the Veganuary campaign 2026. Companies can also start their planning based on the following five tips:

• 1. Introducing new vegan products and dishes expands the offer and satisfies a growing demand.
• 2. Substituting animal-based ingredients with vegetarian ingredients satisfies the demand for future-proof recipes and products, because they are vegetarian – and render animal-based products superfluous.
• 3. A close cooperation with Veganuary and between companies, brands, the retail trade and food service sector raises the attention of the target group and the visibility of plant-based products.
• 4. Promotions and special offers for purely plant-based products and meals during the campaign period arouse more attention.
• 5. Labelling and clear messaging with a reference to Veganuary in shops, restaurants and on digital channels increases the visibility of the vegetarian offer – for example displays, shelf wobblers, price tags or packaging with a Veganuary logo.

The food transformation is in process and every year Veganuary shows how a low-threshold invitation, good timing and a strong cooperation can achieve a measurable and sustainable effect. Now is the right moment to put courageous ideas into practice, enter cooperations – and in January 2026 jointly demonstrate how tasty the future can be.