Vegan and vegetarian (veggie) alternatives cost consumers 30% more per calorie than dairy or meat equivalents, according to the findings of an 18-month “informal” study.
Two baskets of randomly selected vegan and vegetarian foods and brands were compared to their conventional “twins” on a monthly basis.
The study commissioned by Kite Consulting and AB Dairy, a part of AB Agri, analysed products sold at Tesco, Sainsburys and ASDA between June 2022 and November 2023.
The kilo calories (kcal) per 100g were recorded and the retail price of each product was used to calculate the cost per kcal, according to Kite Consulting.
Vegan and vegetarian alternatives
Standard, premium, branded and supermarket-own ranges were included in the study, with vegan and conventional products within the same categories being compared.
Meat-substitute mince was compared with beef mince, vegan sausages with pork sausages, vegan burgers with beef burgers, vegan cheese with cheddar, and oat drink with milk, for example.
Products compared, for example, included Tesco’s Plant Chef 2 Fish-Free Cakes with Melt, 280g, 176kcal/100g for £2.30 and Tesco Cod Fish Fingers, 300g, 195kcal/100g for £2.00.
Analysis showed that, across all products, consumers paid an average of 42p/kcal for vegan alternatives, compared to 30p/kcal for conventional foods and brands.
Our study shows that when it comes to buying calories, meat and dairy products give consumers “far more bang for their buck” than vegan and dairy alternatives, John Allen at Kite Consulting said.
Allen claimed that despite the current cost of living crisis, “we don’t hear comments on the nutritional quality of these [plant-based] products in relation to their cost”.
“We are confident that livestock agriculture has a key role to play in providing high quality nutrition cost effectively,” he said commenting on the study.