🍔📉 Despite recent international launches from NYC to Milan, Neat Burger has announced the closure of half of its UK restaurants after losses grew by 145% last year.
Co-founder and managing director Zach Bishti explained that the nature of sales had changed compared to pre-pandemic, with Monday and Friday footfalls in London’s financial district and West End dropping with the rise of work-from-home. Plus, the demand for home delivery – which surged in 2021 due to lockdowns – declined, and this led Neat Burger to shutter its delivery-only kitchens.
Neat Burger’s decision is reflective of the overall decline of the UK’s vegan market. According to industry think tank the The Good Food Institute Europe, plant-based sales declined by 3% between 2021-22 in the UK, with meat analogues dropping by 8% in the same period. Meat alternatives brand Meatless Farm was rescued from administration by fellow British player VFC®, while mycoprotein giant Quorn Foods reported a £15.3M loss in its yearly accounts, citing (like Neat Burger) post-pandemic inflationary pressures as part of the reason.
But this trend isn’t restricted to retail – a number of vegan restaurants have closed too. Fast-casual chain Clean Kitchen Club permanently shut its Notting Hill location in London in February, for example, while Flower Burger exited the UK market in September and Edinburgh’s Harmonium closed in April. In north England, V Rev, JJ’s Vish and Chips, Zad’s (all Manchester), Frost Burgers (Liverpool) and Donner Summer (Sheffield) all shut last year as well. In fact, earlier this month, popular vegan restaurant V Or V also announced it is closing.
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Senior Business Account Manager at WRAP. Circular Economy
8moYour cakes are absolutely amazing, can’t believe they are completely vegan as the texture is unlike most others in the category. Big fan of your products!