Veganuary victory for Nisa retailers

Veganuary victory for Nisa retailers

The growing desire for a better choice of plant-based meals in the convenience sector has been well responded to at Nisa thanks to the addition of Co-op’s new GRO range to the offer.

Since its introduction at the start of the year, the range of plant-based meals has been doing very well with retailers welcoming the new brand for which there is clearly a demand from their shoppers.

Overall sales of vegetarian and vegan lines are up almost 30 per cent year on year at Nisa and this is expected to continue following the introduction of the GRO range with more than 1,900 partners so far buying into it since its arrival at the start of the year.

With more than half of shoppers saying they would like a greater choice of more convenient vegetarian and vegan food options Nisa has increased the amount of plant-based ready meals and pizzas available with some great meals in the GRO range particularly.

To date, the top five sellers of the GRO range to Nisa partners are the falafel and houmous wrap, chilli con nachos, creamy coconut cauliflower curry, the Kashmiri spice pizza and the Incredible burger.

Dan Brown, managing director at Pinkie Farm in Musselburgh, is one Nisa retailer who has welcomed the range.

He said: “We thought we’d give the GRO range a try and have had a fantastic response from customers. We have now made the majority of the range a permanent feature within the store, with the food to go and ready meals being particular favourites.”

Another partner who has bought into the range and whose customers have welcomed the expanded meat-free offer is Amrit Singh of Nisa High Heath in Walsall.

He said: “The GRO range has been great for us as a store as it has shown our customers we can adapt to their needs, especially in January as many people are trying Veganuary this month.

“The sandwiches and wrap are working best for us as it is a great vegan solution for customers on the go.”

And for Nisa’s independent supermarket partner Dike and Son, in Stalbridge, the range is proving a success with a broad range of customers.

Adam Vincent, company director, said: “Since we started stocking the GRO range at Dike and Son we have managed to tap into a market that previously we were under ranged in.

“The most interesting thing is that the product and packaging sits well amongst various categories and customer demographics for example health conscious, environmentally conscious, people looking to lose weight as well as obviously vegans to name but a few, the range of people that seem to be buying the product is wide.

“Early signs are exciting, and we look forward to the future hoping that we can GRO sales!”

Ian Redhead, category controller at Nisa said: “We’re confident that working with the Co-op we are offering Nisa partners the opportunity to be market leaders within the sector for the meat-free category and the addition of the GRO range makes our offer even more compelling.”