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Veganuary: Locations with the Highest Vegan Provision in the UK

31st January 2022

For veganuary we have used GMAP's LeisureVision restaurant location data to establish where the UK Vegan hotspot is
Veganism has become increasingly popular in the past 10 years as people look to adapt their diets and food choice to help end animal farming, protect the planet and improve their general health. As more people have turned to veganism, retailers, supermarkets, and the hospitality sector have responded. Better access to tasty vegan foods has in turn meant that more people are attracted to the plant-based diet. 

Post-Christmas, many of us enter the new year looking for a diet that doesn’t consist of cheese, leftovers, chocolate, and alcohol. With the increasing popularity of Veganism and the offerings available to us, it is no surprise that Veganuary has become an increasingly attractive way for people to detox after Christmas, as well as take up the challenge to try being vegan! 

Last year, over 580,000 people signed up to Veganuary’s 2021 campaign in over 200 countries and territories. In addition, 439 new vegan products were launched, and 154 new vegan options were added in key chain restaurants in Veganuary 2021. 

To get in the Veganuary spirit, we have looked at our LeisureVision data in MVPLUS to establish where in the UK has the best vegan provision!
Hotspot Map of the UK Vegan Restaurants, Cafes and Fast-Food Outlets

Leisure location data to find out where there are the most Vegan restaurant, cafe, and takeaway outlets in the UK are
Top 20 Vegan Locations
1. Hackney
2. Camden
3. Tower Hamlets
4. Glasgow City
5. Newcastle upon Tyne
6. Brighton and Hove 
7. Manchester
8. Norwich
9. Lambeth
10. Islington
11. Westminster
12. Cardiff
13. Hammersmith and Fulham
14. Bristol, City of
15. City of Edinburgh
16. Liverpool
17. Southwark
18. Waltham Forest
19. Birmingham
20. Nottingham
LeisureVision Points is a competitively price dataset of over 250,000+ leisure locations across the UK. Points is a comprehensive dataset of locations across 4 product types including Food & Beverage (F&B), Entertainment, Competitive Socialising and Sport & Fitness. Each Point is also assigned to one of over 100+ categories. The attributes associated with each point are: Name, Brand, Location, Product & Category.
It is no surprise that London is a key hotspot for vegan food, with 8 of the top 20 locations in the capital. Outside of London, Glasgow and Newcastle are the 4th and 5th top vegan locations, followed by Brighton and Hove, Manchester, and Norwich. 

Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Islington, Cardiff, and Hammersmith and Fulham have the highest number of vegan restaurants. The locations with the most vegan cafes are Hackney, Newcastle, Tower Hamlets and Glasgow. Whereas Camden, Newcastle, Manchester, and Hackney have the most vegan takeaway outlets.  

Vegan and Vegan-Friendly Brands 

Many vegan restaurants, cafes and fast-food outlets are run by independents. However, with the popularity of veganism, vegan and vegan-friendly chains are growing. The first Veggie Pret opened in London as a pop-up experiment back in 2016, and now have 10 locations with ambitions to continue to expand the Veggie Pret estate. In addition, there are more and more UK high street chains, from Costa to Wetherspoons to Wagamama, that are offering vegan options to their menus that are Vegan Society Trademarked. 

There are many brands that have started as independents and have expanded to multiple cities. Neat Burger has 6 locations in London with a 7th location opening in Canary Wharf soon. Oowee Vegan, another vegan fast-food brand opened their first location in Bristol, and now has 6 locations across Bristol, London, Brighton, and Manchester. Purezza opened in Brighton in 2015, making it the first vegan pizzeria in the UK. Since, it has opened locations in Bristol, Camden and Manchester. It seems to be that London, Brighton and Bristol are catalysts for vegan brands. 

Vegan and Vegan-Friendly Leeds

Although Leeds is not one of the top locations for vegan food provision, there are several vegan and vegan-friendly brands that members of the GMAP team are big fans of! When Humpit opened in the Leeds Corn Exchange in 2014 their hummus and falafel became number one in Leeds on TripAdvisor within 8 weeks. Although sadly their original Corn Exchange location has closed, they now have 6 locations – including 1 in the Leeds University Union just 0.4 miles or a 9-minute walk from the GMAP office!

Bundobust, a vegetarian Indian restaurant and casual craft beer bar, opened in Leeds in 2014, and now has 2 sites in Manchester and 1 in Liverpool. Döner Summer, which specialises in Vegan Junk Food and cocktails, originally opened in Spark York, and has since opened locations in Leeds, Hull and Manchester. Another vegan Leeds recommendation is Manjit’s Kitchen, located in the Leeds Kirkgate Market and on Kirkstall Road, and specialises in vegetarian Punjabi street food. 

Get In Touch

Congratulations to anyone who’s completed Veganuary! Please get in touch to find out about how GMAP’s LeisureVision leisure location dataset or location planning consultancy could help you support your business. 
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