As consumer interest in plant-based eating continues to snowball, major brands and new names alike expand their dessert offerings.
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August
5, 2020
6 min read
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It wasn’t too long ago that sweet treats were a hard-to-come-by rarity for vegans. If you were a plant-based eater with a sweet tooth, chances are, you either baked your own sweets or stuck to sorbet and fruity popsicles on a regular basis. Premade vegan cakes, cookies, and ice cream were something you might travel to a specialty store or restaurant for, but they weren’t available in regular grocery stores. Certainly not with an availability even comparable to that of non-vegan desserts.In the last few years, however, grocery store shelves have changed rapidly. Virtually every major ice cream brand from Halo Top to Ben & Jerry’s now offers a line of non-dairy options, and longtime dairy alternatives are expanding their offerings: So Delicious has pint options made from coconut milk, oat milk, almond milk, as well as soy milk bases, and Daiya, the brand known for its vegan cheese, makes frozen cheesecakes now, too.It’s little wonder that plant-based desserts seem to be exploding as a category, given the fact that the overall vegan is expecting to continue snowballing. Some market analysts predict to see the global vegan food market grow at a rate of 9.6% in the coming years. Grocery store chains in the UK and US have noticed the spiked consumer interest in vegan products, and are working to serve that niche.Related: Algae Is the New Popcorn. And Pasta. And Bacon.Milking the plant-based dessert trend for all its worthAccording to some estimates, dedicated vegans are a growing segment, but they are still a very small percentage of the population. Their desserts, however, appeal to a broader demographic. It’s estimated that 65% of people in the world are lactose intolerant to some degree. In the past, an upset stomach may have seemed a worthwhile price to pay f
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