Supermarket Bombscare

New vegan store in Northern England town

by

Do you live in, or visit, the northern town of Halifax in West Yorkshire?

Great news. You have a brand new independent vegan business to throw your support behind!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq4QiiplD6E/

Leaf is a small, independent business situated inside The Piece Hall in Halifax.

It is stocked with plant-based food, groceries, pantry items, toiletries, gifts and zero waste products.

I used to work in Halifax many years ago and it was tough to imagine something like Leaf popping up, so I can’t tell you how thrilled I am for the people of this town.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrCw3L6Aj1p/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq7aywkA5SZ/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq7Qcgeg7-y/

Take a moment out of your day to follow Leaf of Halifax on Instagram.

New vegan food in Marks and Spencer

by

Not a lot of text to read in this post.

You’ve all come here today to see photos of the new vegan ready meals recently spotted in UK retail chain Marks & Spencer.

I won’t waste your time with attempts at being sassy or clever.

I’m here to give you what you want.

With love, respect and occasional ennui,

FGV xx

BREAKING NEWS: New vegan pizza hits the UK

by

BREAKING NEWS

Oumph! are launching their plant-based frozen Italian Style pizza in 179 Tesco stores in the UK from September 16, 2018.

The Oumph! Italian Style pizza is inspired by Italy with semi-dried tomatoes, rocket, thyme and garlic seasoned Oumph!, and organic plant-based cheese. The pizza base is hand-stretched and baked in a wood-fired brick oven.

“At Food for Progress we believe in mouth-watering food that is kinder to the environment”, says Anna-Kajsa Lidell, Co-founder & Head of Progress Strategy. “With our pizza we hope to reach new consumer groups beyond the core vegan and vegetarian fan base”.

Lidell continues:

“There is an increasing demand for plant-based options. With all due respect to slow-cooking, often we just don’t have time to cook. This is when we need good, fast food that tastes great – like the Oumph! pizza!”

The Oumph! Italian Style pizza is already a huge success in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. In some stores the success was unexpected and the pizza sold out within a couple of days!

Preparing the Oumph! pizza will be simple. Place the frozen pizza directly from the freezer (unwrapped) on a baking tray in the middle of a preheated oven (Electric 220 °C/Hot Air 200 °C/Gas Mark 6) for 7-9 minutes. Done!

The Oumph! Italian Style Pizza is launched in 179 Tesco stores from 16th of September, where you’ll find it in the freezer section. The 400 g pizza costs £3.99.

Also on 16th of September, Tesco will launch the Oumph! Salty & Smoky, alongside current Oumph! products in Tesco’s frozen section; Pulled Oumph!, Oumph! Kebab Spiced and Oumph! The Chunk. RSP £3.49 per pack (280 g).

Oumph! Salty & Smoky – With its salty, smoky and slightly sweet taste Oumph! Salty & Smoky is a perfect partner for brunch, served with American pancakes, or in a bagel. Try it with a full English breakfast, or in an Oumph! ‘O.L.T.’

You can follow Oumph! on Instagram.

New vegan products at Marks and Spencer

by

The great expansion of vegan groceries in the UK continues with this plant-based range now available in Marks & Spencer.

I was wandering through the Ealing Broadway outlet of this mainstream retailer when my eye was drawn to multiple appearances of the word ‘vegan’ on packages in the chilled section.

Check out all the items I spotted below. I actually didn’t buy any so am unable to give any constructive feedback!

If you have tried, please let us know what you thought in the comments below.

A vegan shopping trip to Tesco

by

I’ve been away from the UK for a while.

Well, actually it has been more than a while. I’ve been in Mexico City for six months.

During my absence, it appears that vegan options in UK supermarkets have simply exploded in popularity and availability.

I popped into my local Tesco Extra earlier today and was completely blown away by the enormous range of vegan products lining the shelves.

Check out just some of the dozens and dozens of new vegan groceries I saw.

New vegan cheese in Waitrose

by

Hey, friends.

Here is a super quick post to share some exciting news.

If you shop at Waitrose, you will be able to pick up dairy free cheese by Koko starting from June 4, 2018.

The vegan cheese varieties being launched include:

  • Dairy Free Cheddar
  • Soft Cream Cheese

The following image was shared by Koko on their Facebook page.

Are you excited for these new products? Did you get to sample any at the recent Bristol Vegfest? How were they?

You can also follow Koko on Instagram to stay updated on new products.

New vegan items from Ocado

by

Supermarkets in the UK are falling over themselves to expand their vegan product ranges and that includes online retailer Ocado.

The online grocery store has always been impressive when it comes to plant-based eating, but this latest release of products takes them to the front of the pack when it comes to catering for vegan shoppers.

A wide range of meat alternatives and a few new cheeses can all be ordered online for home delivery right now, with some of the products available at a special price.

If the below photo is too small to see the details, click here to see the entire range on the Ocado website.

New online shopping collective

by

Here is some interesting news for vegan consumers.

The Eco Collective is a vegan and ethical online shop.

The owners describe it as kind of like Costco (where you pay to sign up and get wholesale prices for everything), however The Eco Collective is free to sign up and totally vegan.

They stock a huge range of products from groceries to household products and while they have larger brands, they concentrate on smaller independent companies.

They want it to be about vegans helping vegans.

The Eco Collective has a regular retail price for non-members and a discounted price for members, as well as monthly member specials.

You can order online for delivery anywhere in mainland UK. There is also an option to collect your order if you like near the warehouse in Christchurch, Dorset.

Click here to browse the hundreds of vegan items available and see what you think of the prices.

Vegan store near Wolverhampton

by

You know how I am always going on about supporting independent vegan stores?

Well, here is an insight into one such business and I think it gives you a great feel for the love, dedication and commitment independent business people put into vegan grocery stores.

Scott from Friendly Foods just outside Wolverhampton dropped into my inbox to share the following info about the business he runs with Sara.

Listen up:

The store opened in July 2016, initially just at weekends as Sara was still working full time in her job (25 years in the NHS) as a Clinical Psychologist. The intention was to move full-time which duly happened in September ’16. The origins of the store have various inspirations. Sara and Scott went vegan in the late 80s as students and animal rights activists. Kids, work, hassles duly arrived and our veganism lapsed back to vegetarian. We have 3 opinionated kids (Becca – 22, Gregor – 18 and Issy – 16). All made their own decisions to go vegan as teenagers and we were both back in the fold inspired by their example. The idea for opening a store was cemented by a combination of our visits to the annual vegan fest that is the West Midlands Vegan Festival (in Wolves) and Sara just being sick and fed up of Tory induced madness in the health services she managed. Opening the store was all a bit off the cuff but just felt so right and we were lucky to be in a position to give it a go.

Their story continues:

The store is located about 5 miles from the centre of Wolverhampton on the A454 which is the main road between Wolverhampton and Bridgnorth. The store is on a retail park site called “The Garden Village” next to one of the 3 garden centres on the A454 with plentiful free car parking and a local (number 9) bus service. The idea simply is to be a one stop shop for people to find vegan groceries and the growth since September ’16 has been a delightful surprise. The simple ethos is to be a welcoming space for anyone – be they vegan, vegan curious or transitioning – and to make it easier for them to follow a compassionate lifestyle. More of a sanctuary than a shop.

How about moving forward for Friendly Foods?

We are now in bigger unit (since November ’16) and things are going so well we are now even starting to outgrow this larger unit. The range of stock continues to grow week by week and we stock a wide range of the popular vegan brands (Sgaia Mheats, Love Seitan, Wheaty, Vegusto, Bute Island, Violife, Oatly, Ombar, Vego, Anandas, Eat Real, Ten Acre etc etc), the mega One Planet Pizza and vegan essentials like Vital Wheat Gluten, Nutloaf mixes, nuts, pulses, beans, yeast flakes and jackfruit. We also make a point of stocking the more difficult to find artisan vegan products like Tyne Chease, Naturally Vegan Food Company cheezes, Cool Jerk Vegan Pies, Left Field Kombucha, Little Vegan Cookie as well as locally sourced products (like Butterbelle nut butters).

How about opening hours?

The store is open 6 days a week. Wednesday is the only day we are closed. Running the store is a real family effort. Becca helps a bit on social media and Sara’s mum and step dad (Susu and Mikey who are now vegan converts!) are the friendly faces serving in the shop on Sun, Mon and Tues. The other days are covered by Sara and Scott.

You can follow Friendly Foods on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Visit their website here.