It’s no secret that vegan products have enjoyed a healthy boom over the last few years; in part due to people’s changing mindsets, but also simply down to the improvement of the products on offer.
But, any brand promoting vegan food or drink on the internet are likely to tell you the same thing: the unkind tweets still come through thick and fast.
Cadbury are looking to challenge these vegan sceptics, and have opened up the UK’s first plant-based sweetshop to do so.
Until March 27, the “Mean Tweetshop” in Soho will take people’s tweets slating vegan food and turn them into the wrappers for their plant-based chocolate bars. And the best way to turn hate into love is by providing free chocolate. Oh, we didn’t mention that it’s free? Yep, to confirm, this is not a drill, and there will be FREE chocolate in Soho this week.
The shelves at the Mean Tweetshop are stacked with thousands of chocolate bars inscribed with tweets saying “Vegan chocolate? Sounds grim”; “Vegan chocolate is vile”; and plenty more of the like. Let’s face it, these posters are missing out on some great free chocolate over at Soho this week. Unless, of course, they change their tune and decide to give it a go, in which case there’s plenty to go round!
According to research, chocolate is the product newly-converted vegans miss the most, so it’s pretty essential that the word is spread about this plant-based bar. Plus, the UK was the most popular country for vegans on Google Trends in 2021, enjoying a 5,000 per cent increase in searches. And if free chocolate doesn’t satisfy all those hungry searchers, I don’t know what will!
Ericka Durgahee, Marketing Manager at The Vegan Society said: “With 2022 well on its way, it’s fair to say that the image of veganism is undergoing the most radical change in its history.
“It’s no longer portrayed as an unusual lifestyle, it’s easy and accessible and many people now incorporate vegan options in their everyday choices. With iconic brands like Cadbury unveiling products like the Plant Bar, there has never been a better time to try a plant-based or flexitarian lifestyle.”
The Mean Tweetshop is open until Sunday, March 27 and you’ll find it at 15 Bateman Street, W1D 3AQ (nearest station is Tottenham Court Road).