Cadbury has launched a new ready-to-eat Fudge Flavor Icing — and it’s vegan.
According to Instagram account Accidentally Vegan UK, the new icing was recently spotted on the shelves of UK supermarket chain Asda.
Cadbury’s Ditches Dairy
The new icing may be the brand’s first foray into dairy-free cake topping, but it isn’t the first product from Cadbury’s to exclude dairy from the ingredients list.
Earlier this year, the multinational confectionary giant launched its first powdered milkshake product range, but milk was actually absent from the ingredients, and customers have been mixing the new Choc’Shake with cold vegan milk instead.
The chocolate manufacturer’s Freddo Drinking Chocolate is also vegan, as are all of its Bourneville products. Back in March, it expanded its dark chocolate range with Bourneville Buttons to keep up with the consumer demand for dairy-free sweets.
“Dark chocolate penetration is growing in the UK, and we know there are only a few players present within sharing bag,” said Mathieu Maggi, a brand manager for Cadbury Bourneville, in a statement earlier this year.
She added, “by teaming the most recognizable dark chocolate brand with iconic Cadbury Giant Button format, we believe we have created a real opportunity for retailers to drive sales.”
Dairy-Free Demand
Demand for dairy-free products is rising. In the UK, it’s estimated by Alpro UK that half of all coffee drinkers now ask for vegan milk when ordering in a cafe.
“No longer a niche offering, plant-based has now firmly hit the mainstream as a choice for an ever increasing number of coffee drinkers,” said Alpro’s head of coffee marketing Abbie Hickman earlier this year.
Dairy is falling out of favor due to its link with health and animal welfare problems, as well as its detrimental impact on the environment.
Last month, producer James Cameron and his wife, environmentalist Suzy Amis Cameron, spoke out about the industry’s impact on the planet. They noted that with a shift away from animal agriculture and towards plant-based food, we can take better care of our land, water, and air, and feed more people.
