Asda has ramped up its plant-based offer with a range of new ready meals and meat alternatives.
The retailer last week rolled out a range of own-label vegetarian and vegan options into its chilled aisle in a bid to tap into booming demand for meat-free options.
The extended lineup under its Vegetarian subrange is a precursor to a bigger push into vegetarian and vegan meal solutions launching in early 2019, offering a “broader selection” and “even greater variety”, an Asda spokeswoman told The Grocer.
Following the success of Sainsbury’s shroomdog range, Asda has launched a line of vegan-friendly Mushroom Cumberland Sausages seasoned with caramelised onion, sage and parsley (rsp: £2.50/six-pack).
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It also unveiled a host of vegetarian and vegan ready meals including a vegan Mediterranean Vegetable Gnocchi, Mushroom Stroganoff, Beetroot Burgers, Mac ‘n Cheese with Leek, Roasted Red Pepper Sausages, Tikka Masala, Roasted Vegetable Lasagne, and Beetroot Risotto (rsps: £2.30-£2.50).
Asda had previously launched a line of “perfect for barbecuing” frozen vegan burgers for this year’s summer range, following increased demand from vegans, vegetarians and meat-reducing flexitarians.
However, the retailer was facing mounting competition from the likes of Sainsbury’s Love Your Veg range of meat alternatives and ready meals, as well as Tesco’s vegan Wicked Kitchen range as 22% of households consciously made efforts to reduce meat intake, said Asda.
Morrisons also recently extended its vegan offer with the launch of a new range of frozen Vegetarian Society-approved V Taste ready meals, nut cutlets and veggie burgers in September. The retailer is reportedly set to launch a specialist label for an extended vegan range including “non carne” alternatives to chilli con carne as well as “veggies in blankets” and vegan cheeses.
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