Tesco Vegan Products Cut From Supermarket Shelves

Why Is Tesco Cutting Back On Vegan Products?

The ‘Phase One’ Hype Hangover

Let’s be honest, walking down the chilled aisle at Tesco lately can feel like wandering through the vegan products graveyard. Remember that golden era, just a few short years ago, when new vegan launches were hitting the shelves faster than you could say “oat milk cappuccino”? It was a glorious, bewildering time—a true gold rush for everyone from devoted vegans to the newly curious flexitarians. But recently, the selection has felt a little… sparse, hasn’t it?

The Caavakushi team have certainly noticed the steady decline in certain Tesco plant-based products, and we’ve heard your collective groan. Is the UK’s biggest supermarket ditching the animals-free future? We took a deep dive into the latest reports, and what we found suggests that the “cutback” is less about abandoning the movement and more about an awkward, highly necessary, and slightly hilarious market correction. You see, the initial enthusiasm of “dabblers and the merely curious” has dropped off, according to the Tesco own vegan food products buyer, Cate May. That initial, somewhat chaotic, surge of interest was “inevitably going to drop off slightly.” They were aiming for a whopping 300% sales increase in plant-based meat alternatives by 2025, but they’ve since admitted they are “highly unlikely” to hit that target. Ouch.

Are The Tesco Vegan Products (Plant Chef Range) Going Extinct?

It feels like we just lost our favourite pair of comfy shoes. The Caavakushi team have noticed that Tesco has recently discontinued a lot of products in their plant-based range, especially in the pre-made and processed segments. We’ve seen favourites vanish, and the Tesco dedicated vegan products fridge space has, in some stores, shrunk faster than a cotton shirt on a boil wash. Why the disappearing act for products like the beloved vegan pizzas or those handy Wicked Kitchen ready meals?

Well, it turns out that while we, the devoted vegans, happily snapped up the meat analogues, the general public (mostly flexitarians) got cold feet. There are two big, very awkward truths that caused this slowdown in sales for highly processed alternatives: cost and quality/taste. Many consumers found that the convenience of alternatives didn’t quite justify the price tag or, let’s face it, they simply didn’t like the taste or texture enough to make them a weekly staple. When sales volume declines, shelf space follows. It’s the brutal retail circle of life.

Welcome To Phase Two: The Whole Foods Renaissance

But here is where the story gets really interesting, and frankly, far more exciting for the future of ethical eating. Tesco isn’t waving a white flag when it comes to vegan products; they are simply pivoting to what they call “Phase Two” of the plant-based revolution. This strategy is centred on a concept that most veteran vegans have preached for years: veg-led and whole-food options.
Instead of focusing solely on convincing a meat-eater that a burger made from peas is the same as one made from a cow, the supermarket is now catering to a growing consumer demand for less ultra-processed food (UPFs), gut health, and meals where “vegetables are the star, rather than relying on meat alternatives.” Tesco has confirmed they are shifting their focus and expanding ranges like their own-brand Gut Sense line. This isn’t a cutback; it’s a strategic evolution.

And the evidence is on our side! Sales for certain foundational vegan ingredients and newer, less-processed alternatives are actually soaring. Cate May noted that volume demand is on the rise for meat-free ingredients and whole cuts, with tofu and tempeh sales up by around 20 per cent, and even plant-based steaks and chicken breasts increasing by 20 per cent. Perhaps most surprisingly, plant-based fish alternatives have seen sales jump by an incredible 100 per cent year-on-year. We’re seeing this “veg-led” approach cemented with the launch of their new “plant-forward” range called Root & Soul, a collection of pulse, grain, and vegetable-focused meals.

It’s Not A Funeral For Tesco Vegan Products, It’s a Facelift

So, take a deep breath, fellow vegans. What we are witnessing is not the end of the Tesco vegan products aisle, but the death of a narrow, “meat-replication-at-all-costs” approach. The initial market frenzy loaded the shelves with products that didn’t stick. The products that remain—and the new ones being introduced—reflect a more mature, health-conscious, and sustainable phase of plant-based eating.

The message is clear: Tesco is still committed, but they need us, the vegan and flexitarian community, to vote with our trolleys. If you want to see an abundance of delicious, ethically-sourced food, make sure those fantastic whole-cut alternatives, beans, pulses, and new Root & Soul products fly off the shelves. Let’s make Phase Two the revolution we always knew it could be. It might be less about the novelty frozen pizza and more about a phenomenal plant-based fish alternative, but hey, that sounds like a delicious upgrade to us at Caavakushi!

If you want to know more about the supermarket’s plant-based strategy, you can watch this video that asks Is TESCO Ending Meat Alternative Sales?

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