The non-profits Vegetarianos Hoy Foundation and the German Albert Schweitzer Foundation have conducted a study in five Latin American countries to rank them regarding having the most vegan-friendly supermarkets. The Latin American countries studied were Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Chile stood out as the country with the most certified plant-based products on supermarket shelves. The Vegan Ranking of Supermarkets was created by the German Albert Schweitzer foundation.
The study involved 14 cities in five countries, where 25 retailers were surveyed for their availability of plant-based products. The supermarkets were ranked using the following criteria: 1) Availability of vegan products in the supermarkets surveyed, 2) Quantity of certified plant-based products and 3) Categories that define the variety of plant-based products (alternatives to meat, plant-based sausages and fish; plant-based alternatives to dairy products; sweets, baked goods, plant-based snacks; precooked dishes and plant-based convenience food; sauces, dips & plant-based spreads).
The number one supermarket in the region was Fresko from México. Supermarkets in Chile took second (Jumbo), third (Líder), and fourth place (Tottus) in the Latin American General Ranking of availability of plant-based products, and obtained first place in the number of certified vegan products, followed by Mexico and then Colombia.
Ignacia Uribe, general director of the Vegetarianos Hoy Foundation, said: “We are going to carry out this ranking every year and we will be working with retail to help them include more and more certified vegan products, since according to a study we carried out together with IPSOS almost 90% of Chileans believe that it is important that vegan products have an official certification.“
