Number of vegetarians jumps and requires attention from retailers

Before the synonym of vegetarian food was just salad and vegetables, today both large as small bet networks in this niche and committed efforts to develop more attractive options. The idea is to reach an audience that, only in Brazil, jumped 75% from 2012 and sum at least 29 million people, according to the Brazilian Institute of Opinion and statistics (Ibope). The Executive Director of GS & Libbra, arm of the Group GS & Gouvêa de Souza, Cristina Souza evaluates the input of large networks such as Burger King and McDonald's ´ in this market as a way to attract new customers. "What happened is that the power business understood that vegetarian and vegan people go together with people who do not also vegetarian, so we need to adapt to all audiences," comments. On November 8 the day McDonald's launched the first ´ vegetarian snack in Brazil, made with breaded rennet cheese burger. The meatless version of Burger King was released on 29 September 2015 and is made based on potatoes, mushrooms and cheese. "This represents a strong gastronomic evolution with more options beyond just salads, which brings more flavor and break stereotypes that the herbal foods are not hot", explains Cristina. In addition to big brands, smaller companies are also putting efforts on developing attractive and dishes without animal protein. The chain of restaurants Brasileirinho launched in July last year, the Veganíssimos line, with three dishes: Beef Stroganoff, vegan mexidinho vegan and sweet potato gnocchi. "The line was hatched from a partnership that made the Brazilian vegetarian society, the SVB. Her account, even with the quality seal of the society, "says Executive Director of Brasileirinho, Julian Ferreira line was designed in partnership with the Brazilian vegetarian society and has the seal of quality of it. According to Fernandez, the efforts for the creation of the dishes were to keep up with changes in consumer habits. "We wanted to bring another option to reach a larger audience. We identified that had great acceptance and a growing sales that surprised us on the inclusion of those options, "says, adding that today the sales of Veganíssimos line represents 15% of the total turnover of the company. Sister act according to an Ibope survey conducted in April this year, the population grew 75% vegetarian declares about 2012. In addition, the survey pointed out that more than 55% of respondents stated they would consume more vegan products if they were best displayed on packaging and 60% if they had the same price as the products that are used to consume. In the capitals of the country, the number rises to 65%. For Cristina, people are looking for more healthy options and a plant-based feed, depending on the way it is prepared, can afford it. "Brazil is among the ten countries with the highest number of obese, being almost 53% of the population. The vegan options are an alternative to change that, "analyzes. In addition to the plate the changes of habits on the part of the population considered to be vegetarian or vegan go beyond food. Clothing, cosmetics and accessories manufactured without animal raw material are also part of the daily lives of these consumers. In this way, the vegan cosmetic brand Made Brazil, inaugurated in 2004, went on to sell at Sephora, one of the largest stores of beauty products from Brazil, in 2013, noting growth of 120% in relation to previous years-when they sold only by the e-commerce. No animal testing and completely based on vegetable ingredients, all products Made Brazil are vegans and, according to the founder, Lena Peron, follow the patterns of Anvisa. "To avoid cruelty to pets, we do the tests on fabrics produced in vitro, to, only after 100% safe, pass the products to the test of effectiveness in human volunteers, under the supervision of dermatologists," explains, adding approximately 40% of the customers of the brand are vegans.