Vegan confectionery - a trend you don't want to miss!

Vegans are going crazy for the new vegan confectionery that’s emerging on shelves all over the UK! This comes as no surprise. Those following a plant-based diet have suffered with a limited choice of sweets and chocolate for far too long, which is totally unfair in our opinion. Even the most health conscious people need a tasty, sweet treat every now and then!

As a retailer, now is the time to hop on the trend and start offering your customers a range of vegan confectionery. In this blog, we’ll guide you through the current trends surrounding veganism and show you all the best vegan confectionery to stock in 2022.

How popular is veganism in the UK?

Veganism is growing year on year and shows no sign of slowing down! So much so, that plant-based diets have become mainstream in the UK, with more and more people adopting this style of eating in some form. In fact, according to research by the Vegan Society, a whopping 7.2 million British adults currently follow a meat-free diet, which is an increase of 40% from 2020. What’s more, 8.8 million people have committed to following a vegan, veggie or pescatarian diet in 2022. For retailers that sell food to consumers, tapping into this market is a no-brainer!

But despite what the figures have been showing us for years, we’ve only recently begun to see the number of vegan options on supermarket shelves increase to include vegan confectionery. While candy giants like Haribo and Nestle have been developing vegan recipes for their products for years, it seems many other confectionery brands are finally beginning to adapt to the change in consumer demand too.

With most major confectionery manufacturers investing significantly in their range of vegan sweets and chocolate this year, jumping on board with the trend as a retailer has never been easier! In fact, if you’re looking to stock up on wholesale vegan confectionery, we have a ton of meat and dairy-free chocolate and sweets available to bulk buy right now.

What’s the best vegan confectionery to sell?

If you haven’t tried and tested a bunch of vegan sweets yourself, it can be tricky to know what to buy. You might be surprised to know that here at Harrisons Direct, some of our office favourites are actually 100% vegan – so it’s safe to say they’re tasty. Big manufacturers like Swizzles and Look-O-Look have created vegan candy that’s so good, it will have you saying – i can’t believe that’s vegan! In fact, most of the Swizzles Matlow range is vegan. Here are a few of our favourites…

Look-O-Look Sour Apple Stripes

The Sour Stripes are one of Look-O-Look’s best selling products. They’re the perfect sugary, sour sweet for customers of all ages, and they’re 100% vegan. With a sweet as inclusive as this, we’re struggling to think of a reason not to stock them in your store!

Swizzels Sweet Treats Gift Tube

Including favourites like Parma Violets, Love Hearts, Refreshers, Drumstick lollies and more, this is the perfect gift for any of your vegan customers!

Some might argue that choosing the Swizzles Sweet Treat Gift Tube as one of our favourite vegan sweets is a cop out, because it includes a bunch of different sweets – but that’s why it’s so great! We can’t fault a single product inside, which is why we recommend stocking the gift tube in your store this year.

10p Vimto Chew Bar

The classic Vimto flavour made into a bar, with real fruit juice and no artificial flavours! If you’re looking for a vegan friendly sweet to add to your pocket money sweet selection, this is a great option.

What’s the best vegetarian confectionery to sell?

Vegetarian customers love sweets as much as the next person, and it has never been easier to cater for special diets. We stock an exciting selection of wholesale vegetarian sweets that your customers will love, all of which are free from gelatine and other animal products. Here are a few that we recommend…

Haribo 50p Giant Strawbs Pocket Size

Who doesn’t love a Giant Strawb? Giant in both size and flavour, they’re a chewy, fruity sweet that remains a favourite of kids and adults alike! This is a sweet that will never lose popularity simply because it’s so tasty. So even though you’ll be stocking a sweet for vegetarians, they’ll be loved by all.

Millions Tubes Bubblegum Flavour

These tiny, tasty, chewy sweets are packed with nostalgia! Coming in a 60g pouch, they’re the perfect sweet treat for kids. We have wholesale Millions Tubes in bubblegum and strawberry, both of which are vegetarian, so you can offer your customers a range of flavours.

Look-O-Look Candy Necklaces 90g

The Candy Necklace is the ultimate retro sweet to sell in your shop – that’s totally veggie! This sweet has been loved by generations of kids for being both fun and tasty, with most of us having had one round our necks at some point in our lives.

Our range of wholesale vegan and vegetarian sweets are the perfect solution for customers looking for a tasty, plant based treat. Being vegan has never been so easy!

Want to cater for all sweet lovers? View our confectionery lines!

As well as vegan confectionery, we also stock thousands of sweet and chocolate lines that your customers will love. Open a free trade account today and buy wholesale confectionery online at trade prices with Harrisons Direct.