Meatless Farm on brink of collapse after shoppers go off vegan alternatives

A vegan ‘meat’ manufacturer has stopped trading and laid off its workforce after a slump in the wider market.

Meatless Farm, which made plant-based mince, patties and sausages, collapsed into administration on Wednesday.

An insolvency firm has taken over and could try to rescue the business, though outgoing commercial director Tim Offer said ‘all the teams’ had been made redundant.

At its peak in 2021, the Leeds-based company sold more than £11 million worth of its products, which were stocked in the big four UK supermarkets and used in vegan dishes at Itsu, Pret and Yo Sushi.

But it has been operating at a loss for the past three years, racking up a reported deficit of almost £50 million.

Founder Morten Toft Bech told The Grocer magazine last month that his company was ‘doing really well’ and enjoying ‘strong growth’.

The UK meat alternatives market, which is worth more than £460 million, suffered a slump in sales of 7.4% last year, according to NielsenIQ.

In January this year, when sales typically peak amid ‘Veganuary’ marketing schemes, sales for chilled alternatives were 16.8% lower than last January while frozen versions were down 13.5%.

Sausage brand Heck recently cut its vegan range, citing lack of consumer demand.

But sales in other parts of the vegan food industry, such as plant-based milks, cheese and yoghurt, remain strong.

Industry experts say the cost of living crisis may have put shoppers off the typically more expensive imitation meats, and that people new to vegan diets may have learned they prefer other options.

Euromonitor industry manager and food researcher Tom Rees told the BBC: ‘We’ve had a real glut of products on the market with supermarkets pushing their own ranges and outstanding brands. Now consumers have decided which ones they like.’

Meatless Farm was ‘not a top 10 player’, he added, accounting for around 1.2% of the overall market last year.

Insolvency firm Kroll confirmed two of its practitioners ‘have been appointed Joint Administrators of Meatless Farm’.

In a statement, it added: ‘At the end of May 2023, Kroll was hired as advisors for the vegan food company and has since been exploring all options for the business and its assets.’

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