The world of vegetarian food manufacturing has marked the incredible growth of the industry in recent years with the annual Vegetarian Awards.
Held last week in London, most of the prizes for this year's event were in fact won by manufacturers of vegan products.
Two Vegan Society patrons, Moby and Wendy Turner, were finalists in the Vegetarian Achievement Awards. Vegan Golden Promise beer, Redwood's Vegan Fishless Fingers, Swedish Glace vegan ice cream, vegan shoes, vegan falafels by Goodlife, vegan 'Vege Bear' jelly baby type sweets, V1 and www.veganstore.co.uk (an online vegan shop), all won awards.
"It was very inspiring to see so many vegan products and services winning. This proves that standards have been raised and there's more reasons than ever before to provide tasty food that everyone can enjoy," said Tony Weston, a vegan, who picked up the Vegetarian Travel Award onbehalf of the Vegetarian Visitor travel-guide, beating Virgin Atlantic.
Reflecting the huge growth in the vegetarian manufacturing industry, particularly in the UK, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) this week announced the launch of its new Vegetarian Food Manufacturers' Group.
In launching the unit, the FDF released figures which strongly reaffirm the growth of the industry. "The latest market intelligence reports indicate that the vegetarian and meat-free food category is worth more than £540 million in the UK and is growing on average by over 15 per cent a year," said an FDF statement to accompany the launch of the new website.
More information about the nature and scope of the vegan food manufacturing industry and the recent awards in London can be garnered from the Vegan Society website.