The outlets will stock more than 1,000 food and personal care items

The high street shop will expand further into the vegan sector

Holland & Barrett has announced it will open its vegan-only stores before Christmas.

In addition, store bosses are planning to sell a number of cruelty-free beauty items, claiming there is huge potential for growth in this sector.

According to Chief Executive Peter Aldis, the brand will be testing two of the vegan-only outlets. He added: "We don’t want to feel like a place for alternative hippies. We want vegan to become more mainstream and there are lots of very good reasons why it will."

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Vegan

Aldis announced the plans to open vegan-only stores in May, talking about the burgeoning vegan market.

He said: "Today there is a trend towards veganism. We are working on a vegan-only store. It is our space and we should be in it.

"The amount of people that are engaging in that lifestyle is rising."

Plant-based offering

Holland & Barrett started looking for new products to stock in its vegan stores earlier this year, with Director of Product Development Emma Cockerill saying the company is 'open to working with brands of all sizes'

She added: "We've long been committed to a plant-based lifestyle even offering members of the Vegan Society a discount in store. And with the growing amount of vegans in the UK comes the need for an expanded range of great products for them to choose from.

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"We know from our suppliers that vegan foods taste better than ever and are available in many more categories than just the chiller."