On the eve of World Vegan Day (tomorrow, Friday November 1), retail giant Marks & Spencer has announced a commitment to make all of its own-label wines vegan by 2022.
In a UK first, M&S will removed all animal-based ingredients commonly used in wine production – including the use of egg whites, milk protein and animal gelatine – to make all its wines completely vegan friendly.
Currently, 70 per cent of the M&S wine range is vegan, with the brand introducing vegetarian-friendly wines in 1998 and vegan-friendly wines in 2005.
Winemaker for M&S, Sue Daniels, says: “We’ve made this commitment as part of our overall aim to make M&S products more relevant to more customers and to take action to reflect their changing dietary demands.
“Obviously, such a large-scale commitment isn’t without its challenges – however we have been working on alternatives with winemakers for several years and have already seen radical changes in more traditional areas such as France and Spain. We will be supporting the rest of our partner wineries every step of the way towards this goal.”
M&S has jumped onto the plant-based bandwagon in a big way this year, having launched its vegan-friendly range Plant Kitchen serving up dishes like Cauliflower Popcorn Bites and Cashew Mac & Cheese. The commitment to veganism continues into its Christmas range for 2019, offering a Plant Kitchen Nutcracker Sandwich.
