Flower Burger, the Italian-based vegan restaurant, is exiting the UK just over two years after the launch of its first site in the country, adding to a whole host of meat-free hospitality venues which have struggled to survive post-pandemic.
Having closed its site in Fitzrovia around a year after opening it in May 2022, the restaurant group, which is known for its colourful burger buns and unique adaptations of meat dishes, has also shut its Brighton store for the last time.
Colourful burgers weren't enough to attract customers Source: Company
Signing a master franchise agreement with food and beverage company Gerry’s Group back in 2021, things had seemed promising for the vegan enthusiast, with the franchisee initially planning to open more than 40 sites across Britain, but Tuesday's announcement hammers home just how much things have changed for the meat-free industry.
Moving beyond Beyond Meat?
At the peak of the pandemic, it seemed vegan food was one trend which was going to withstand the test of time. Logically, it seemed that as people become more conscious about the food they are eating and the impact it has, the more likely it was that vegan-based foods and establishments would thrive – even among those who still enjoy the odd bacon bap.
However, as the cost-of-living crisis forces households to reduce meals out and cut spending when supermarket shopping, vegan food has fallen victim and so with it a slew of well-established businesses.
One of the most glaring examples of this downward trend is seen through the failure of New York-listed Beyond Meat’s IPO.
Cheers at the trading floor Source: Bloomberg
Going to market in 2019, the stock performed positively throughout Covid and by mid-2021 early investors could boast returns of around 125%.
If they sold then that is.
Quickly after the stock fell… and kept falling more than 93%, and with the share price currently sitting at just under US$10 compared to the IPO price of just under US$67, it couldn’t be clearer that consumer interests have changed.
“This change in perception is not without encouragement from interest groups who have succeeded in seeding doubt and fear around the ingredients and process used to create our and other plant-based meats," chief executive officer Ethan Brown noted during an earnings call last month.
Ve-gone forever
It’s not just the clear-cut stock price charts which are highlighting how consumers are deciding to eat animals once again.
Back in Britain, Pret a Manger shut or switched back all of its meat-free Veggie Pret branches after sales at the sites dipped, with the group admitting customer demand wasn’t as strong as expected.
Meatless Farm, the British plant-based meat producer, fell into administration earlier this year and although the brand and inventory were picked up for around £475,000 despite achieving around £12 million in sales, the core business was not saved, resulting in numerous jobs being lost.
Made in Chelsea star Verity Bowditch had hoped to get in on the vegan boom back in mid-2021 when she alongside entrepreneur Mikey Pearce opened several Clean Kitchen Club restaurants across London.
Clean Kitchen Club owners Bowditch and Pearce Source: Company
Eighteen months later, two of these sites were forced to close, with sources close to the operation claiming it was “a business that isn’t sustainable”.
While another plant-based IPO looks unlikely to come to fruition, there are chances for this industry to return to growth especially once the cost-of-living crisis eases.