Marks & Spencer is one of a host of food retailers to unwrap new vegan offerings this week to capitalise on the surging consumer demand for meat-free foods in the UK. 

Launched yesterday, M&S' vegan-friendly 'Plant Kitchen' brand will offer more than 60 meat-and-dairy-free fresh meals, salads, snacks, the firm said. Dishes include 'cauliflower popcorn with buffalo dip and cashew mac', mushroom stroganoff, and what the firm claims is the first vegan-friendly sourdough pizza.

M&S said it was introducing the new Plant Kitchen range to meet rising consumer demand for vegan-friendly food. One in five of its customer households now cook for a flexitarian or vegetarian, it explained, while 60 per cent of its customers are seeking to eat less red meat and adopt a more flexitarian approach to eating.

Record numbers of consumers - more than 230,000 - have also signed up to 'Veganuary' this year, pledging to eat a vegan diet for the whole of January. "This is the year we'll truly see plant-based food go mainstream," predicted April Preston, director of product development at M&S. 

Plant Kitchen meals will also be the first M&S ready meals to use widely recycled plastic trays, as well as foil trays and cardboard boxes.

Rival retailers are also gearing up for more vegan customers. On Monday retailer Waitrose launched an own-brand vegan 'fishless finger' sandwich made from breaded seaweed tofu with a crispy coating and a "subtle fish flavour". The supermarket is also offering vegan-friendly tartare sauce, it said. 

Chloe Graves, chilled vegan and vegetarian buyer at Waitrose & Partners said the launch of the fishless finger follows hot on the heels of the success of the retailer's vegan party food range, which has seen 20 per cent sales growth since its launch in October. 

"After the successful launch of our new vegan and vegetarian range in October 2018 we've been working to see what other interesting dishes and products we can add to the range," she said. "The Fish'less Fingers are a great vegan alternative to a much-loved food which we hope our customers will love."

Meanwhile, high street bakery Gregg's has also unveiled a new vegan friendly 'sausage roll', which is on sale from today in a bid to attract plant-based eaters to its stores.