Co-op to lower prices of its plant-based meat range
The Co-op Group is lowering the prices of its plant-based meat, such as vegan burgers, mince and sausages, in a bid to bring them in line with the price of meat and get more costumers to choose plant-based options.
Co-op is investing in its Gro plant-based range, slashing the price of burgers from £3 to £1.35 and sausages from £3 to £1.45 per pack.
Costumers trying to cut down on meat and dairy often complain that the vegan equivalent are more expensive.
“It’s an industry-wide standard that plant-based alternatives are usually priced higher than their meat and dairy counterparts. At Co-op, we believe it shouldn’t cost you more money to eat plant-based food and that this disparity is unfair to those following vegetarian, vegan and flexitarian diets.” said Jo Whitfield, chief executive of Co-op Food. “It’s Co-op’s ambition to make our plant-based range, GRO, even more accessible to our members and customers, helping them make decisions that collectively will have an impact on the world we all share. Emissions from our operations and our own-brand products are where we have the greatest responsibility and can make the biggest difference. This move is a step in the right direction and we encourage other retailers and brands to consider making the change too.”
Co-op recently also announced that it will remove plastic bags for life from sale in all 2,600 stores. The retailer will sell a low-cost compostable carrier bags to all stores.
“Increased use of Bags for Life has led to a sharp rise in plastic use. With over 1.5 billion bags sold each year by retailers, this remains a massive issue for our industry as many shoppers are regularly buying so called ‘Bags for Life’ to use just once and it’s leading to major hike in the amount of plastic being produced.“, said Jo Whitfield.
“To help tackle plastic pollution and the use of unnecessary plastic, we will be ceasing the sale of Bags for Life when current stocks are exhausted. We’re also ensuring all of our members and customers have access to a low price point option that’s more environmentally friendly, alongside more durable bags at a higher price point.
“We believe that it should be mandatory for all retailers to report on the sales of all of their reusable bags, not just single-use bags. Right now, Co-op is the only major retailer to report on all of the bags it sells. This policy would enable a fuller understanding on the impact of the levy and its true effect on shopping behaviours when customers are making decisions at the tills.”
