With the number of vegans growing steadfastly to more than 3.5m in the UK alone these past few years, following a vegan lifestyle has never been more accessible.
Companies are taking notice of the rising interest in animal welfare as the result of the rapid growth of veganism. Many have launched new products with the aim of attracting this new demographic.
Earlier in the year, KFC & Greggs made headlines with their new vegan options, the holy grail of sausage rolls & a Quorn chicken substitute to rival its typically meaty options. Both launches were a huge success and sold out in record time.*The vegan sausage roll is a permanent addition with more vegan options to join it (dates tbc). KFC has not confirmed when the vegan chicken will return to its menu.
New vegan products are being released all the time but September 2019 will see some exciting new additions to shelves.
Asda is launching the most new products and has even secured some exclusively to their stores.
1. Costa Coffee Chocolate, Caramel & Hazelnut Cookie – September 5th
The high street coffee chain has launched a new vegan cookie after the popularity of the toffee cookie previously released.
The Vegan Chocolate, Caramel & Hazelnut Cookie has a gooey caramel centre and is topped with crunchy hazelnut pieces.
The cookie has The Vegan Society ‘s trademark so vegans can be assured the cookie is 100% suitable for them.
If you thought nothing could beat the Sticky Toffee & Pecan Cookie from Costa Coffee, you’d be wrong.
They’ve outdone themselves with their new Chocolate Caramel and Hazelnut Cookie, complete with that gooey caramel center we love! (Source)
The Vegan Society
Costa previously released a Vegan Sticky Toffee and Pecan Cookie with a gooey toffee centre and topped with a sprinkle of pecans as well as savoury lunch options for on the go.
The Vegan Chocolate, Caramel & Hazelnut Cookie is available nationwide at Costa cafés from the 5th September.
2. Aldi “I Am Vegan” Ready Meals – September 8th
Aldi are the latest UK supermarket to expand their own-brand vegan range, with three new additions to their shelves. Following on from the success of their Vegan Quarter Pounders & Vegan No Sausage Rolls, Aldi is eager to expand its vegan range and cater to the rising number of vegans.
They’ve created a range of ready meals as a part of their new own-brand collection called “I Am Vegan”, which launched on the 8th. They may be free from meat/dairy,/eggs but they’re packed full of flavour.
The new frozen ready meals are:
- Thai Yellow Curry (pictured above) – Aubergine, red peppers, lentils and spring onions in a Thai-inspired coconut curry sauce with brown and black rice.
- Red Pepper & Mango Curry – Red pepper, mango, black turtle beans and sugar snap peas in a coconut curry sauce infused with ginger, garlic and coriander. Accompanied with brown rice.
- Smoky Jackfruit Chilli –Red peppers and red onion in a smoky chipotle sauce with brown rice.
The meals are priced at an affordable £1.99 each and can be cooked quickly and easily in the microwave.
*From Sunday 8th September, Aldi also introduced a range of vegan Specialbuys, featuring Tofu (£1.49), Veggie Jerky (99p) and Oat Milk for just 89p!
3. Pudology Cheesecakes – September 21st
Pudology, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free pudding creators, are adding 2 new cheesecake flavours to their line at Asda. The two new layered dessert flavours are a toffee and chocolate cheesecake, alongside a strawberry cheesecake.
For me, a Pudology cheesecake is all about a rich flavour, a biscuit base and a creamy, whipped topping. Of course, being dairy-free there’s no cheese involved.
Lucy Wager, Pudology Founder
Each pack will contain 2 x 70g cheesecakes (£2.50 per pack). The products will launch on 21st September and will be on promotion from 10th October.
4. Applewood Cheese – September 23rd
Applewood has been producing dairy cheese for more than 56-years, will be launching a vegan version of its smoked cheese on 23rd September in 235 Asda stores.
The company originally announced that the cheese would launch in UK supermarkets in January 2019 but reformulated the recipe following consumer feedback.
Unfortunately this is taking slightly longer than we envisaged, as we want to ensure it tastes great and melts really well, so we wanted to let you know that it won’t be ready until later next year, 2019. We really appreciate your support and positive anticipation and we hope to get this product to you as soon as we can.
Applewood
The new coconut-based vegan cheese is free from dairy, soya, and gluten and has a smoky flavour like Applewood’s signature smokey cheeses. The cheese is also fortified with added B12 & calcium to ensure it’s nutritionally sound as well as being delicious.
“It is the Vegan cheese alternative you have been waiting for with a smooth & creamy coconut base. It MELTS BEAUTIFULLY”. – Applewood
Applewood vegan cheese will launch on 23rd September in 235 Asda stores.
5. Ben & Jerrys: Cookies on Cookie Dough Non-Dairy Ice Cream – Late September 2019 (Date TBC)
Following on from its release in the US earlier this year, ice-cream giants Ben & Jerry’s are finally bringing the much-anticipated flavour to the UK.
The dairy-free Cookies on Cookie Dough is made with a dairy-free almond milk vanilla ice cream and is packed with chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate pieces.
Our classic Cookie Dough tub was concocted for people who know the joy (and the temptation!) of sneaking a bite or two of cookie dough before it makes it into the oven, which got us thinking… Why should our vegan fans have to miss out?
Priscille Moussy, Ben & Jerry’s Flavour Guru
We’ve been working hard to create a vegan cookie dough that really stands up to the original. I think we nailed it. (Source)
Ben & Jerry’s first debuted its dairy-free range in 2016 with three flavours; PB & Cookies, Chunky Monkey, and Chocolate Fudge Brownie. They recently launched the fourth flavour in the UK this January – Coconutterly Caramel’d.
Cookies on Cookie Dough will be the fifth dairy-free flavour available to purchase in stores from late September with a recommended retail price of £6.
This flavour was my favourite before going vegan so I’m really excited about this launch. I think it’s the most highly anticipated ice cream flavour ever. September can’t go quick enough! Autumn and my fav ice cream, life is good.
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Thanks for reading!
I couldn’t believe the Ben and Jerry news! I absolutely love thier peanut butter and cookies vegan ice cream but have been saying for so long I want cookiedough! AHHHH I can’t wait!! I was in Aldi the other day and didn’t realised the ready meals were new ??♀️ can’t believe I didn’t pick any up. Their sausage rolls are incredible though ?
Lon x
I know!! I’m so excited!! When they released it in the US I had hopes it would make its way here soon. Beyond excited! I think it because they already have some myvegan stuff so it’s just those 3 that are new. Well you’ll know for next time ?I’m excited to try the jackfruit one, that sounds the most exciting out of the 3. Yes I’ve heard good things but haven’t tried those yet. I’ve been saying for months that I need to go to Aldi. Think it’s well overdue. Thanks for reading hun ??
I absolutely caaaaan’t wait for that Applewood! I use to be so obsessed with Applewood in the pre-vegan days, so fingers crossed it’s good!
Sammy x
https://bakeydoesntbake.com
Same here! My sister is a huge fan of it as well so if it’s good I will definitely get her to try it to hear her opinion. She’s not vegan sadly but she’ll remember the taste of it better than me. In fact I might get to taste both and then ask her which one is vegan. X
I cannot wait to try that Applewood… been such a long time coming!
Yes I am excited as well. I feel like it’ll be disappointing and not like the applewood I remember. I do hope it’s good. Can’t believe it’s finally here and it’ll be in ASDA soon! So happy.