BBC Good Food Conducted a survey of five to 16-year-olds in the UK.
The research showed that 8% of children followed a vegan diet and 13% a vegetarian one. The survey of 1004 children also discovered that 15% wanted to go vegan and 21% wished to be vegetarian.
According to statistics by The Vegan Society, in 2018 the number of vegans in the UK was around 600,000, which is a rise of 450,000 in four years.
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Big brand companies have catered to a younger market in the past year with brands like Quorn, Alpro, and Moo-Free launching kid-friendly foods.
Quorn launched the popular Roarsomes, a vegan alternative dinosaur-shaped nugget. Alpro, who also produce growing up soya milk for age 1-3, launched a variety of kids yoghurts and moo-free have popular chocolate varieties including lollipops.
Christine Hayes, editor of BBC Good Food said: “The findings are revelatory and show that far from being fussy eaters, children want to take over the nation’s kitchens – baking and preparing meals, trying different kinds of foods.
“They are passionate about exploring alternative diets and methods of food production that could be more sustainable for the planet.”
Christmas and Halloween will no doubt see further products targeted at younger vegans with several companies including Moo-Free launching vegan advents calendars and many supermarket brands producing plant-based stocking fillers and Halloween treats.
Follow Vegan Fook UK on Instagram to keep up to date with this year’s festive launches.
