Neat Burger Is Closing But That Doesn’t Mean Veganism Is Failing

I was scrolling recently when I saw a headline that made my heart sink a little. Another vegan food outlet shutting its doors. Not just any outlet either, but Neat Burger, the high-profile chain backed by none other than Lewis Hamilton.

It’s not a great feeling seeing a business dedicated to plant-based food disappear from our streets, but I remain hopeful and don’t see this a failing of veganism.

Keep reading below for my full take.

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The vegan community has been buzzing with the news that Neat Burger is pulling out of the UK. From what I can tell, all of its UK locations are either closed or in the process of shutting down. This follows the earlier closure of their New York City outpost, and at the time of writing, it’s unclear whether their Milan branches are still operating.

It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that this is some sort of sign, a warning for the future of veganism. A sign that the dream is over.

But I don’t see it like that at all.

What we’re witnessing here isn’t the failure of a movement. It’s not proof that the public isn’t interested in vegan food. It’s not a sign that compassion and sustainability have fallen out of fashion.

What we’re seeing is a business model that didn’t work. A type of entrepreneurial gamble that didn’t pay off. And let’s be honest, this is something that happens all the time in the food and drink world, whether a business is vegan or not.

I’ve watched countless non-vegan independents and restaurant chains fold over the years, from pizza places to curry houses to burger joints. Often it has nothing to do with whether people liked what was on offer. It’s about the brutal and complex reality of running a business in a system that is punishingly expensive and increasingly unworkable.

Spiralling ingredient costs. Huge upfront investments that need repayments to commence before a single customer even walks through the door. Post-Brexit costs and red tape for UK businesses. Staffing challenges. Skyrocketing energy bills. Business rates and rents that would make your eyes water. A cost of living crisis that is cutting into every household’s spending power.

When you put all that together, it’s not shocking that a business like Neat Burger couldn’t survive. What’s more surprising is that any food business manages to stay afloat at all, especially one that relies on pricey city-centre locations and rapid expansion fuelled by outside investment.

In the current landscape, only the giants tend to survive. Hospitality is being swallowed up by corporations and conglomerates, with restaurants that only stay open because they are funded by investment firms with deep pockets. But when those firms lose confidence, pull out their support, or simply want their money back, the lights go out. And that’s exactly what seems to have happened here.

So where does that leave us?

Disappointed, perhaps. Sad that we’re losing another vegan-friendly space. But not without hope.

There is demand for vegan food. Neat Burger wouldn’t have launched so many sites and poured so much money into global locations if people weren’t excited about plant-based eating. That demand is real. What’s broken is the business model. A model that relies on astronomical investment and aggressive expansion just to survive.

As a community, we need to be smart about where we place our support. We should be spending our money with independent vegan businesses that are trying to make things work without millions in funding. Businesses that understand their local communities. That hire local. That serve good food at fair prices and want to stick around for the long haul.

The closure of Neat Burger is not the end of the vegan dream. If anything, it is a wake-up call to rethink how we support plant-based ventures. To nurture businesses that are sustainable in more ways than one. Financially, ethically, and socially.

I don’t have all the answers or probably any of them! But I know this much. I’m not giving up. And I hope you won’t either.

Let’s keep buying vegan food. Let’s support the places doing the work. Let’s build something lasting.

Extra note: if you made it this far, drop the name and details of your favourite independent vegan eatery or restaurant into the comments section. No matter where in the world you are!

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