UK wholesale supplier of seitan-based meat alternatives, LoveSeitan, has announced that it is closing its doors.
The company was established in 2017 by founder Steve Swindon, who announced that LoveSeitan would officially cease trading in a LinkedIn post last week.
LoveSeitan supplied products to several UK supermarkets with a portfolio that included a ‘Facon Bacon’ bacon alternative, seitan chicken burger and seitan pepperoni.
In his LinkedIn post, Swindon cited tough market conditions and increasing costs as contributors toward the company’s decision, adding that “at the end of the day, we could not convince enough people of the benefits of seitan”.
“It has been an incredible journey and I’m grateful for every minute of it but it’s time to move on to something new,” Swindon wrote.
The company received financial backing in 2018 from entrepreneur Heather Mills, founder of vegan food brand Vbites.
Mills recently acquired the manufacturing facilities of Plant & Bean, a meat alternatives manufacturer based in Lincolnshire, after the company fell into administration following operational issues and inflation impacting the business’ profitability.
A handful of similar collapses have been seen within the category over the past few months, with meat alternatives brand Meatless Farm appointing administrators in May. Although the company remains in administration, the brand was bought by VFC Foods in June and has this month returned to UK supermarket shelves with a revival of its well-known products alongside a new Pork & Apple sausage innovation.
Beyond Meat’s recent Q2 results also showed a significant slump in sales, forcing the company to scale back its full-year outlook for 2023.
Research has suggested that a lack in demand for meat alternatives has been driven by the cost-of-living crisis, with consumers opting for cheaper protein sources, as well as concerns around the health credentials of highly processed plant-based products.
However, while figures have fallen this year, 2022 was found to be a record-breaking year for investment into the plant-based category in the UK and Ireland.
Talk of the plant-based sector being in decline has stirred up debate, with those remaining optimistic about the sector’s future arguing that the category is simply seeing a natural plateau to be expected of any segment experiencing such rapid growth over the last decade.
In an interview with The Plant Base, VFC Foods CEO Dave Sparrow shared this view: “Given the amount of early capital and brands entering the plant-based arena, this market was bound to reach a level of saturation and opportunities to continue aggressive growth were always going to narrow.”
He added that consumer-led brands that stay true to their core values will “weather the storm”.
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