Mellow Mushroom, Magnum, Aveda, and more promote Veganuary in their 2022 initiatives to encourage more people to try vegan in the new year
(United States – January 11, 2022) – In an effort to encourage more people to try vegan restaurants, recipes, and food in 2022, restaurants and brands across the United States are creating unique initiatives to make plant-based options more accessible by promoting Veganuary, the global organization that encourages people to try vegan in January and beyond.
Every January, businesses around the world vie with one another to bring out more, bigger, and better vegan products and menus to capitalize on the huge popularity of Veganuary. In 2021, there were more than 825 new vegan products and menu options launched during the month around the globe. Now, in its third year in the US, Veganuary is seeing an uptick in the number of businesses around the country getting involved. This year, Veganuary participants can look forward to tons of great special offers and discounts from participating brands around the country and world.
This January, popular chains like Mellow Mushroom, Pokeworks, Just Salad, Blue Sushi Sake Grill, Fresh Brothers, Veggie Grill, and more are launching new plant-based menu items for Veganuary 2022. With so many of us eating more at home, you’ll also see great Veganuary deals and bundles from services like Thrive Market, Purple Carrot, and more.
Mellow Mushroom is adding two new vegan pizza limited time offers to the menu this January to support Veganuary participants. Anne Mejia, VP of Brand Development at Mellow Mushroom, said “Mellow Mushroom has long embraced veganism and other dietary lifestyle choices and needs, including offering certified gluten-free pies. We’re delighted to partner with Follow Your Heart and Spork Foods to create two new Vegan pies – the ‘Miss Mushroom’ and the ‘Greek Goddess’ — just in time for Veganuary.”
Popular chain Just Salad is promoting their fan-favorite plant-based options all month long. Sandra Noonan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Just Salad, said, “We offer a variety of delicious vegan options that help our customers achieve their health goals while reducing the food system’s environmental impact. This includes great plant-based alternatives like Violife creamy vegan feta and Daring plant-based chicken.”
Additionally, brands around the country are supporting consumers in their plant-based journeys this month through special promotions and creative marketing campaigns, like the Sweet Earth Foods Veganuary Swaps campaign.
“We’re excited to launch a series of Sweet Earth® Veganuary recipes this month, developed in collaboration with a celebrity chef and culinary creators,” said Jennifer Barnes, vice president and general manager at Sweet Earth® Foods. “Our goal is to encourage more people to go meatless with super flavorful, culinary-forward Sweet Earth® Plant Based Chik’n recipes for all occasions. Sweet Earth® will also be announcing special deals on the Veganuary website and surprise giveaways on Instagram on the @sweetearthfoods page.”
Plant-based consumers can also look forward to new vegan products coming onto the market in January, like the new vegan Mini’s that Magnum launched for Veganuary.
“Just in time for Veganuary, Magnum ice cream U.S. is expanding our non-dairy offerings to include a new flavor, Hazelnut Crunch and highly anticipated MINI Variety Pack, featuring our Non-Dairy Classic and Non-Dairy Almond flavors in our signature MINI size, providing more options for fans to indulge in Magnum ice cream,” said Nicole Towner, Brand Manager, Magnum ice cream U.S. “Magnum ice cream is excited to join the Veganuary movement because we believe everyone should be free to indulge in the lifestyle they choose, and that of course includes treats from the chocolatiers of ice cream. We are continuously releasing new non-dairy offerings that allow everyone to experience the decadence of Magnum ice cream.”
In addition to new product and menu launches and clever marketing campaigns, over 75 businesses around the globe, like Aveda, The Mill, PLNT Burger, and Papa John’s, are electing to bring Veganuary into the office via the Veganuary Workplace Challenge, which encourages colleagues to take the 31-day vegan pledge as a team.
Liz Williams, Papa John’s UK managing director, speaking on behalf of Papa John’s International which is encouraging staff in 45 countries to take part, says: “2022 marks the first year of the Veganuary Workplace Challenge at Papa John’s, and another small step in our Plant Love mission. Through this global campaign, our aim is to plant love for the people, planet and communities we serve, and in doing so, demonstrate the benefits of plant-based food and how nature makes many pizza ingredients better. Milestones in our Plant Love pledge include the ongoing expansion of our plant-based and flexitarian offering, as well as plant-based and vegan industry award wins in the UK and Middle East. The call to sign-up to Veganuary’s 31-day challenge has been shared with colleagues in over 45 countries, many have answered, and they will be supported through January and beyond with helpful tips and plant-based recipe inspiration.”
According to a YouGov survey recently conducted by Veganuary, 31% of Americans are interested in eating a plant-based/vegan diet but have certain reservations, with the top concerns being that they don’t think they could stick with it (13%), have concerns about affordability (10%), and want meal plans and recipes (9%)*.
Veganuary is uniquely positioned to mitigate these concerns by offering all pledge participants free, ongoing support. The organization prioritizes working with brands to offer special cost-saving discounts to participants throughout the month.
“I think the remarkable level of interest in eating plant-based as we enter the new year is due in part to Americans becoming aware of the incredible influence our food choices have on our day-to-day wellbeing and the health of our planet,” said Wendy Matthews, Veganuary’s US Director. “Businesses also play a huge role in the shift by continuing to bring innovative and delicious meat, dairy, and egg replacements to the market, which make eating plant-based so much easier – and more delicious.”
There is still time for brands, restaurants, and retailers to get involved in Veganuary! A great place to start is by downloading their Business Support Toolkit for tips, assets, and ideas, available at veganuary.com or by contacting [email protected].
About Veganuary
Veganuary is a non-profit organization that encourages people worldwide to try vegan for January and beyond. It was founded in the UK in 2014 and since then more than 1.5 million people have taken the 31-day plant-based pledge to help the planet, reduce animal suffering, and to benefit people, too. This New Year’s revolution has also been embraced by businesses, with restaurants, retailers, and brands around the world launching and promoting new vegan products and menu items for January.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jessie Lingenfelter
Veganuary US Media
[email protected]
803-730-2869
www.veganuary.com
