Vegan food sales are up by a whopping 1,500 per cent in the past year, according to new figures released to coincide with World Vegan Day.

More than half a million people in the UK now say they follow the vegan lifestyle, which is up by 260 per cent in the last ten years, and a third of the population identifies as ‘flexitarian’, which simply means they are cutting down on their meat consumption.

There is a lot of people switching to plant-based alternatives to dairy products, with sales of Alpro Unsweetened Almond Milk have gone up by 2,343 per cent since 2015 – the equivalent of over 265k litres or around 3,300 baths full of this nut based alternative to cow’s or goat’s milk!

Vegetarian meat alternatives are also up by thousands of percentage points, as is sales of snacks such as Smoked Tofu and Cauldron Falafel. In the run-up to Christmas treats such as Alpro Vanilla Soya Custard (+1,142 per cent) , Rakusen’s Non-Dairy Chocolate Digestives (+1,643 per cent) and Booja Booja Hunky Punky Chocolate Ice Cream (+2,756 per cent) are also on the way up.

Jacques Thudichum, Buying Manager – Chilled Prepared Foods at Ocado, says: “Consumer appetite for vegan-friendly foods in the UK is showing no sign of slowing down, as ‘flexitarianism’ emerges as the key trend of the moment. We’ve listened to our customers and have hugely expanded our vegan selection this year, adding new and exciting products each week to become one of our strongest categories.

“Whatever the lifestyle – whether fully embracing veganism or just looking to make some simple swaps – Ocado is committed to making these products as accessible as possible.”