Designed for hospital patients, the meals form part of the company’s Crown Advantage range and include a vegetable and lentil stew, vegetable casserole, vegetable hot pot and vegetable jalfrezi, as well as pasta-based meals and vegetarian-approved burgers and sausages.
Managing director at Anglia Crown, Paul Howell, said: “We recognise that a stay in hospital can be a stressful time and the last thing patients want to worry about is whether there will be a suitable meal option for their diet, preferences or needs.
“At Anglia Crown, we have been working hard to extend our vegan meals as demand has quadrupled over the last seven years. According to figures released by the Vegan Society last year, there are now three and a half times as many vegans as there were in 2006, making it the fastest growing lifestyle movement.”
The launch, which will coincide with World Vegan Day (1 November) and World Vegan Month (1-31 November), will add to the 11 vegan and 15 vegetarian main meals already available from Crown Advantage; and the 11 vegan and 36 vegetarian dishes from Crown Choice.
Howell concluded: “More people are increasingly turning to a vegetarian diet, with meat- free dishes regularly being requested within the NHS.
“Our existing vegetarian range includes dishes inspired by international cuisines including popular Italian-style meals such as mushroom and leek pasta bake and QuornTM tomato pasta, as well as pan-Asian and Indian meals from sweet and sour QuornTM to creamy lentil, tomato and cauliflower daal.”