The Vegan Society and The Christchurch Vegan Society have collaborated to produce a study on purchasing habits among flexitarians in Australia and New Zealand, including assessing what vegan products consumers hope to see more of in the future.
Researchers collected online survey responses from 600 Australians and 400 New Zealanders, all of them identified either as flexitarian, vegetarian, or vegan. Most respondents were flexitarian or “partly” vegetarian (75%), while 16% identified as fully vegetarian, and only 9% as vegan. Here are some of the key results of this study, conducted in 2022:
- 42% of respondents reported that they purchase vegan food and drinks at the supermarket “often” or “every time.” This is a higher percentage than any other category of vegan products.
- Only 4% of respondents claimed to “never” purchase vegan products in a grocery store setting.
- 35% of people reported that they always or often purchase vegan food or drinks at restaurants, while 6% never do.
- Around 40% of respondents reported buying vegan cosmetics or toiletries “every time” or “often,” while 6% reported never buying them.
- Approximately 39% of people reported using vegan healthcare products (such as vitamins) and 37% reported buying vegan household items always or often.
- 30% of respondents reported always or usually buying vegan fashion products (lower than any other category) while 9% claimed to never purchase vegan fashion products.
- Around 41% of respondents want more vegan options in fashion.
- Younger generations were more likely to report using vegan products in the household category (particularly Millennials, categorized as respondents between the ages of 26-41).
- In all industry categories, over half of respondents said it was “very important” that an identification system be used to show which products are vegan.
