Vegan food fans left disappointed as popular burger chain is forced to close its doors

• UK vegan chain, The Vurger Co, began as a food stall in Tottenham in 2016
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Vegan food fans have been left disappointed after a popular plant-based burger chain announced it would be shutting all its stores.

The British fast-food chain, The Vurger Co, which used ingredients such as tempeh, soya and Beyond Meat to make its creations, confirmed it had permanently closed its doors on Thursday.

It joins the likes of Veggie Pret, with Pret A Manger announcing earlier this month that its last three vegetarian-only stores would be converted into standard outlets that sold meat.

Elsewhere, Neat Burger, backed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Lewis Hamilton, closed half of its London sites in December while a vegan restaurant in Cheshire has been forced to start serving meat because it has too few vegan customers.

With three stores located in Manchester, Shoreditch and Brighton, administrators had been appointed at the The Vurger Co after it narrowly avoided collapse in July 2023.

Vegan burger chain, The Vurger Co, confirmed it would be closing its doors for the final time on Thursday

The burger chain, which started out as a stall in Tottenham in 2016, took to both Facebook and Instagram to announce its closure to devastated fans.

The statement read: ‘To all our loyal customers and supporters, it is with the most incredible sadness that we have to tell you today that we have decided to close the doors to The Vurger Co restaurants for the last time.

‘We’ve been building this community since 2016, and we still have people who have eaten our very first burger still following along today. We hope we made a lasting positive impact in your lives for years to come.’

A flurry of the restaurant’s fans flocked to the comments expressing their sadness about The Vurger Co’s closure.

One said: ‘You were one of the very first vegan restaurants I ever visited and I have such fond memories of and with you. I’m so sorry it turned out this way – sending you so much love.’

‘You should be so proud of everything you’ve done – you smashed it ❤️❤️,’ a second penned.

‘Omg NOOO! I am absolutely gutted!!!!!,’ a user exclaimed, whilst one added: ‘So sad to read this, gonna miss your Shoreditch branch so much.’

Another chimed in: ‘This is heartbreaking. I am so so sorry. You’ve been one of my favourite vegan restaurants for years and always supported me.’

The meat-free restaurant plated up plant-based burgers using ingredients such as tempeh, soya and Beyond Meat

Fans have been left dismayed by the announcement with one person saying they were ‘absolutely gutted’

‘It was a joy to work with you when I did and i am beyond sorry to see you go,’ a fan wrote.

Sky-rocketing goods prices due to inflation both at home and internationally sent sales spiralling, according to the chain.

The Vurger Co stressed: ‘To say that the industry is in crisis doesn’t even come close right now.’

READ MORE: Could the McPlant soon be off the menu? Sales slump by a THIRD at McDonald’s vegan burger supplier Beyond Meat with shops reducing expensive meat free products on their shelves amid cost of living crisis

It also urged the Government to ‘wake up’ and reduce VAT, alongside encouraging them to introduce reforms on hospitality business rates.

This comes after its founders bought the chain out of administration in a pre-pack sale in May 2023 after ‘a painful few years of trading,’ Evening Standard reports.

During this time their fourth branch in Canary Wharf, which first opened its doors in 2019, closed.

At the time co-founder Rachel Hughes revealed the pandemic had caused the brand ‘enormous challenges’.

Despite this, she said all of their restaurants – except for the Canary Wharf site – would keep trading.

‘After recording strong growth, we were hit with enormous challenges due to the pandemic,’ she told the publication.

‘We’ve worked tirelessly to build the business from scratch, and it’s been a huge challenge, but we’re proud of what we’ve achieved.’

Hugh shared that several factors effected the company, with The Vurger Co being saved in ‘the eleventh hour’ in 2023.

The founders had acquired the brand through a pre-pack administration after buyers pulled out at the last minute.

Shoppers are seemingly moving away from vegan and vegetarian brands as the cost-of-living crisis bites. Pret-A-Manger has closed all but two of its meatless Veggie Pret stores

Hugh said that it had become increasingly difficult to run a small business during a cost-of-living crisis and with the challenges caused by Brexit.

Describing it as ‘an extremely hostile time’ to be in the hospitality industry, she divulged government business rates and energy price hikes had made it difficult to survive.

WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE? 

• Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruit and vegetables count

• Base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain

• 30 grams of fibre a day: This is the same as eating all of the following: 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, 2 whole-wheat cereal biscuits, 2 thick slices of wholemeal bread and large baked potato with the skin on

• Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks) choosing lower-fat and lower-sugar options

• Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 portions of fish every week, one of which should be oily)

• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consuming in small amounts

• Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water a day

• Adults should have less than 6g of salt and 20g of saturated fat for women or 30g for men a day

Source: NHS Eatwell Guide

The development is another sign that veganism is declining in popularity after experts warned many vegan restaurants could close in the next couple of years as they struggle to compete with meat-selling eateries.

Helen Dewdney, also known as The Complaining Cow, said that many people are abandoning veganism after realising that the lifestyle is much harder to maintain than initially thought.

She told MailOnline: ‘I think many people thought it would be easier than it is to find alternatives and still have a varied diet.

‘Many are looking to just reduce their meat intake and become part-time vegetarians or vegans which in turn means that food outlets serving only a vegan menu are seeing fewer and fewer customers through the doors.

‘The cost-of-living crisis is also having an effect, as consumers generally cut back on food, vegans are cutting back on faux meat products. Interestingly this is not just the UK and we are seeing this as a global trend.’

Meanwhile, co-founder of Veganuary Matthew Glover said that vegan start ups are being outmaneuvered by more established chains who have launched their own plant-based ranges, including the likes of Greggs and McDonald’s.

He told The Guardian: ‘Too many startups are competing with established companies that have launched vegan lines and with supermarkets that are investing in own-label plant-based ranges.

‘We’ve lost some brands and we’ll lose some more in the next 12 to 24 months.’

Beyond Meat, the vegan meat alternative giant which supplies the likes of McDonalds, Starbucks and Pizza Hut, also revealed it has suffered more losses.

The company’s revenue has been falling since last year with annual sales projected to fall to just $330million this year, compared with the 2021 high of $461million.

In November, Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown told investors that the company is struggling to appeal to new customers because of perceptions that their plant-protein-based meat alternatives are overly processed and unhealthy.

Heather Mills, of vegan business VBites, announced her company had gone into administration in December 2023, after being hit by rising costs.

Sales of vegan food have been hit, as shoppers have been grappling with higher food prices and opting for meat and dairy products which are generally less expensive.

The decline of vegan food: How companies embraced the meat-free boom and lost out

RESTAURANTS

NEAT BURGER

The Lewis Hamilton and Leonardo DiCaprio-backed synthetic meat restaurant group closed four of its eight UK burger venues in December.

The company axed stores in Liverpool Street, Canary Wharf, Oxford Street and Westfield Stratford after it saw losses expand by around 140 per cent in 2022.

V OR V

The restaurant on Cornish Street in Sheffield, which picked up numerous accolades since opening in 2019, announced it closure in November 2023.

HARMONIUM

In April 2023 the Edinburgh vegan bar and restaurant Harmonium shut after an ‘incredibly difficult period of trading.

VURGER

The Vurger Co vegan restaurant group appointed administrators after narrowly avoiding collapse in July 2023.

VGN BOULEVARD

The Stourbridge restaurant closed in 2022 due to financial strain.

PLANT HUSTLER

The restaurant in Boscombe made the decision to close in October 2022 after facing financial difficulties

VGN BOULEVARD

The restaurant on Coventry Street in Stourbridge had been voted one of the top 10 vegan restaurants in the country for its decadent take on vegan fast food. But it collapsed under financial pressure in September 2023 as a result of the Covid pandemic.

NOMAS GASTROBAR

The Macclesfield restaurant was forced to start serving meat in January 2024 because it had too few vegan customers.

DONNER SUMMER

The Sheffield restaurant closed in March 2023.

VAD’S

Takeaway that ‘paved the way for vegan junk food’ closed in July 2023.

FROST BURGER

Liverpool vegan burger restaurant closed in September 2022.

SEITANS CORNER

The top-rated Bristol-based restaurant announced its closure in October 2022. It had planned a refurbishment before making the ‘difficult decision to move on’.

V REV

One of Manchester’s first and most popular vegan eatery’s closed its doors in December 2022.

FOOD PRODUCTS

VBITES

Heather Mills’ vegan food company went into administration after being hit by rising costs, despite being one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of vegan food products.

VEGAN KIND

The Vegan Kind, the UK’s biggest online supermarket dedicated to plant-based products, ceased operations in November 2022 due to the cost of living crisis.

HECK

Yorkshire-based sausage company Heck cut its vegan range from ten products to two — burgers and sausage. Announcing the news, co-founder Jamie Keeble said that ‘the public wasn’t quite ready. At the end of the day we want to sell products that work on the shelves. These didn’t.’

INNOCENT

The drinks company has scrapped its dairy-free milk range after joking that just five people had brought the beverage.

TOFOO Co

The Tofoo Co — which sells a range of scrambled, smoked and crispy tofu — suffered a 42.9 per cent decrease in range volumes.

PLANT & BEAN

The Lincolnshire based vegan food manufacturing company went into administration in May 2023.

BEYOND MEAT

Beyond Meat, was one of the brightest starts of the alternative meat sector. But its revenue has been falling since last year with annual sales projected to fall to just $330million this year, compared with the 2021 high of $461million.

MEATLESS FARM

Meatless Farm has become the latest victim after the Leeds-based company made its 50-strong workforce redundant in August 2023 and collapsed into administration.

The firm was set up in 2016 and sold £11million worth of plant-based mince, burgers and chicken in 2021 – but has struggled as demand for meat-free products slowed.

It was later rescued by vegan frozen food company VFC.

OATLY

Oatly has withdrawn its dairy-free ice cream in Britain.

NESTLE

Nestle pulled two of its plant-based brands from shops in the UK due to a lack of demand.

The company also announced it was pulling its plant-based Garden Gourmet and Wunda brands from retail in the UK and Ireland in August 2023, following lacklustre sales.

THE VEGETARIAN BUTCHER

Unilever’s The Vegetarian Butcher was another big casualty, losing almost a third of its lines, while meat-free classics Quorn and Linda McCartney’s lines were down by 6.6 and 6.7 per cent respectively.

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