Sales Of Vegetarian Foods Are Predicted To Grow At A Declining Rate

An announcement regarding the release of the “Vegetarian Food Market Assessment 2006” report which discusses a number of trends which have affected the market for vegetarian foods over the last few years.

Major growth in the vegetarian foods market was noted between 1999 and 2002 in the 12-17% range, with slower growth in recent years 5-9%. Positive issues affecting this growth include:

• The government’s campaign for more healthy eating and the consumption of 5 fruits or vegetables per day
• Reducting in meat consumption from BSE and foot and mouth scares
• Dynamic market activity through acquisitions of major vegetarian food manufacturers

Negative issues affecting growth include the declining number of vegetarians in the population since 1999 after peaking in 1997.

Despite the declining vegetarian population, there has still been growth in the vegetarian foods markets, particularly in the chilled foods sector at the expense of frozen foods. The most important manufacturer of vegetarian foods is Marlow Foods with its refrigerated and frozen foods. Sales of vegetarian food products are predicted to grow at a declining rate over the next 5 years to 2010, although there will still be noticeable growth in the market.