Seventy new vegan trademarks were filed in 2020, showing that the vegan trend has no sign of fading, with over 250 vegan trademarks registered in the food and drink sector in the last five years, according to EMW LAW, an international TM and Registrations firm.
The number of vegan trademark applications in 2020 is the 2nd highest on record behind the highest of all time back in 2019 (with 92 registrations according to the Intellectual Property Office) as the popularity of plant-based diets continues to grow.
Vegan food and drink are continuing to develop into a major market for food manufacturers. European retail sales of faux meat and dairy alternatives have grown by 10 % in the last decade. According to Deloitte, the plant-based alternative market is set to grow from €1.5BN in 2018 to €2.4BN by 2025 in Europe, with the UK being the largest market.
The rise in demand for vegan products has made vegan food manufacturers attractive investment targets in recent years. This trend has continued in the last year when French food conglomerate Danone acquired US vegan brand Follow Your Heart, best known for its egg-free mayonnaise ‘Vegenaise’ back in January 2021.
“With greater consumer concern over food sustainability, vegan products have exploded in popularity in the last decade. Those issues driving increased adoption of vegan diets are only going to become more pressing in the future. This trend still has a long way to run and will inevitably be influenced further by changes in our lifestyle as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic,
Companies are seeing greater value in vegan products and are spending more on their development as well as protection for them.
Now, large players are spending money on developing new, vegan alternatives to animal products as the market continues to move in that direction. This means they are also having to invest more in protecting that valuable intellectual property through trademarks and patents.”
Daisy Divoka, Senior Associate at EMW
