Around 100,000 get vegan nutrition in Turkey

Gamze Şener – ISTANBUL

The change to a vegan lifestyle has increased in Turkey and worldwide recently, with some 80 million around the world and over 100,000 in Turkey getting vegan nutrition, experts have said.

Many food companies in the country have recognized the rise in demand, and started generating 100 percent herbal products.

According to experts, the global vegan market will be worth $21 billion by the year 2025.

Ebru Arıman, the head of Vegan Turkey Association, is one of those experts.

“The herbal-based meat industry will grow in 2022 too, and will increase by 9 percent over the next three years,” she estimated.

Arıman, who is also the local head of the V-Label, a vegan initiative supported by the European Vegetarian Society, listed the data of the sales in the global alternative protein market.

The data showed that “these sales will encompass 60 percent of the global meat industry.”

Remarking the rise of veganism in Europe lately, Arıman said the increase has caused a change in Turkey’s production and export strategies.

“The U.N. data showed that by 2050, the world population will be around 9.8 billion,” she said. “This means that unless humanity switches to herbal-based nutrition, a new global crisis will be knocking at the door.”

According to surveys, “half of Europeans have actively started reducing consumption of animal products.”

“[The numbers show that] demand for veganism in Turkey is gaining steam,” she added.

Tunç Tuncer, the general manager of a meat company, is another expert believing that herbal proteins will be a priority in the future strategies of all brands in the food industry.

“We expect the market for products with herbal-based protein to grow,” he expressed.

Besides the food industry, vegan products also deliver high performance in the cosmetics sector.

The cosmetics market is expected to reach $20.8 billion by 2025, with 6.3 percent of annual increases.

“We think there will be a demand-pull for vegan products,” said Zafer Kutanoğlu, the board chair of Aksan Cosmetics.

The company exports vegan certified wet wipes to some 100 counties worldwide.