They also received an unexpected hit of publicity from controversial TV presenter and columnist Piers Morgan, who famously tweeted: “Nobody was waiting for a vegan bloody sausage, you PC-ravaged clowns.” The backlash was fierce. Greggs’ social media team mounted a cheeky counterattack, and Morgan was heavily criticised for his overreaction. There was so much resulting goodwill for Greggs that the incident led to a conspiracy theory that Morgan had teamed up with the company to drum up attention.

Greggs’ success has led to a raft of copycats, even a foot-long version at supermarket chain Morrisons. “Leading [British] companies like Tesco, Morrisons and Marks & Spencer are tripping over themselves to release vegan sausage rolls – and global brands like Fry’s Family Food and Linda McCartney are also making the most of this in-demand product,” Peta’s Carr says. “We’ve also spotted family-owned bakeries – from Cooplands in Yorkshire to Coughlans Bakery in Surrey – taking advantage of the hype and offering their own hand-crafted versions.”

New consumers

So far, the market seems to be holding up. Vegan Antics cofounder Grace Apps believes that Greggs’ vegan line is ultimately positive, especially in locations without dedicated vegan businesses. “We personally haven’t felt negative effects of Greggs’ sausage roll launch, as our pastries are still as popular as ever, but it is a future concern as bigger companies introduce more vegan options at competitive prices,” Apps says. After all, a vegan sausage roll from Greggs or Poundbakery (which sells 2 for £1, or $1.31) could be one-third the price charged by an indie bakery.

But who exactly are the people buying these new products? After all, vegans only make up 1 to 2% of the British population, and vegetarians 7 to 10%. And while global demand for plant-based protein has risen dramatically, up from £2.9bn in 2015 to an expected £4bn in 2020, marketing lecturer Apostolidis believes vegans aren’t the only ones propelling meat substitutes in the UK.

“The media, and probably we as a country, blow things out of proportion when we focus so much on the vegan segment,” he says. “What has grown exponentially is actually meat reducers or flexitarians.”

Statistics show that 39% of British omnivores are actively reducing their meat consumption, and indeed half of meat-alternative sales are actually due to meat eaters. Apostolidis calls himself a meat reducer; he’s cut down on red meat, though he finds it hard to let go of bacon. Flexitarians like him are very attractive to food marketers. For one thing, while people over the age of 55 are more hesitant about vegetarian and vegan foods, younger consumers have been leading the change. The customer lifecycle is longer.