With the number of vegans in the UK soaring to more than 3.5m in the past few years, following a plant-based diet has never been more trendy.

In January, scores of people attempted to follow a vegan diet for the first time as they took part in Veganuary, an annual event that raises awareness of the health and environmental benefits of veganism.

Numerous brands have taken note of the rising interest in veganism in recent times, and as such have launched new products with the aim of attracting a new demographic of plant-loving customers.

Earlier this year, Greggs made headlines with its new vegan sausage roll, while McDonald’s recently launched a vegan-friendly Happy Meal to rival its typically meaty options.

“Anything that gives more choice for people to eat vegan food is a positive move and shows that even mainstream companies like McDonald’s and Greggs have to accept that veganism is now a mainstream lifestyle choice,” Dominika Piasecka, spokesperson for The Vegan Society, tells The Independent.

Here are the biggest vegan food launches to look forward to in 2019:

Ben and Jerry’s new ice cream flavour

Ben and Jerry’s has added a new non-dairy ice cream flavour to its roster, with the launch of Coconutterly Caramel’d.

It’s the first coconut-based flavour to have been launched by the ice cream brand in Europe since 2012.

The concoction includes a combination of vegan Fairtrade ice cream, caramel, cookies and chocolate chunks.

Ben and Jerry’s first launched its range of non-dairy ice creams in 2017.

Coconutterly Caramel’d, a tub of which costs £6, is an exclusively non-dairy flavour.

“We’ve been churning on this for years, trying to recreate the luscious flavours and satisfying creaminess that set Ben and Jerry’s dairy collection apart and we think we’ve cracked it with a taste like no udder,” said Josine Nohlmans, Ben and Jerry’s flavour guru.

“We think this tastes so good that our non-dairy fans won’t miss what’s missing.”

McDonald’s vegan-friendly Happy Meals

McDonald’s has launched its first ever vegetarian Happy Meal, the contents of which have been chosen by children and their mothers.

While the new Happy Meal is marketed as being vegetarian, it is technically vegan, as it contains dairy-free and vegan ingredients.

However, as the tortilla wraps in the range pass through the same toaster that’s also used for McDonald’s buns, which contain milk, the fast food chain has labelled it as vegetarian.

There are two variations of the meal. The first, which costs £2.49, contains a veggie wrap, consisting of a red pesto goujon with tomato ketchup and shredded lettuce in a toasted wrap.

The second, which costs £2.99, contains a spicy veggie wrap, consisting of two red pesto goujons, spicy relish with tomato, lettuce and red onion wrapped in a toasted tortilla.

McDonald’s has been working with the Vegetarian Society in order to make the vegan-friendly Happy Meal a reality.

“There’s a growing demand for veggie food everywhere and it’s fantastic to see McDonald’s meeting the needs of their customers,” said Lynne Elliot, chief executive of the Vegetarian Society.

“It is especially important for young veggies to be able to choose something to eat when they are out with their friends.”

Greggs vegan sausage rolls

Greggs caused quite a commotion when it announced that it had launched a vegan sausage roll following months of speculation that they were planning on targeting vegan customers.

The product, which costs £1, was originally released in 950 of the bakery chain’s UK stores.

From March 2019, the vegan sausage roll will be available to purchase in all 1,950 Greggs stores across the country.

Made with vegetable-oil-based pastry and a “bespoke Quorn filling”, the release of the vegan sausage roll sparked a huge debate on Twitter.

“Nobody was waiting for a vegan bloody sausage, you PC-ravaged clowns,” Piers Morgan tweeted.

The response tweeted by the official Greggs Twitter account, which read: “Oh hello Piers, we’ve been expecting you,” has garnered 113,000 likes and 16,000 retweets.

Watch The Independent conduct a taste test of the vegan sausage roll here.

Greggs vegan steak bake

Earlier this year, it was reported that the bakery chain planned to produce vegan versions of all of its most popular menu items following the success of its vegan sausage roll.

According to a vegan-focused Instagram account, one of these products may be being launched in the near future.

On Friday, Vegan Food UK, which has more than 95,000 followers on the social media platform, shared a photograph taken by Instagram user @healing.with.houmous.​

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