Veganuary for restaurants and pubs: cost two vegan dishes before you print a menu
Two costed vegan dish sheets, ONS ingredient price data, when Veganuary searches peak, and a menu wording checklist for UK restaurants and pubs.
By the TablePort teamFacts checked 12 min read
The January menu goes to the printer next week, a regular has asked what you are doing for Veganuary, and you have one plant-based main that nobody orders.
You do not need a vegan menu for Veganuary. Add two vegan dishes, cost each one so it earns at least the same cash as the dish it sits beside, tag them vegan with their allergens checked against the recipe, and have them live by Monday 28 December 2026. UK search interest peaks in the week of New Year's Day and falls by more than half within two weeks. Keep whichever dish sells and drop the other.
This guide gives you the 2026 numbers, a five-year ingredient price check from official data, two costed dish sheets and a menu wording checklist.
Last checked: 5 November 2026.
Is Veganuary worth doing for a restaurant or pub?
Worth doing small, yes. Worth a whole new menu, probably not.
The campaign itself is large. Veganuary's 2026 results (4 February 2026) estimate that roughly 30 million people worldwide tried vegan in January 2026. That is a survey estimate, not a count of sign-ups: YouGov and Wakefield Research asked adults in twelve countries whether they took part, and Veganuary scaled the shares up to each population. The same page names Wagamama, Franco Manca and Wahaca among the chains that ran Veganuary specials, and three independents (The Queen Inn, Aberglais Inn and East West Pizza) that reported a good month. The page gives no UK participant figure, although the UK was one of the countries surveyed.
Taking part costs nothing. Veganuary's business page says participation is free, that you do not need to confirm it, and that you can promote your dishes with #Veganuary2027 without using the campaign's branding.
Operators who have done it describe a guest who wants to eat lighter, not a guest who has gone vegan for good. "In the new year, diners are more health conscious. People give up meat, drink a bit less and want to look after themselves," Sebastian Comerso, executive chef at The Aubrey in London, told Restaurant Online (27 November 2024). The Aubrey ran a mushroom menu instead of a vegan one. In the same article, Maray's managing director James Bates described a "Green January" offer of 50% off vegetarian and vegan dishes, Monday to Thursday, which brought 7% more guests than the previous December. He said it worked financially because those dishes generally use higher-GP ingredients.
The decision rule:
| Your situation | What to do for January |
|---|---|
| No vegan main on the menu | Add one vegan main and one vegan starter or side |
| One vegan main that sells fewer than 1 in 20 mains | Replace it with a dish built to the cash margin rule below |
| Vegan dishes already sell well | Promote what you have; add one January special at most |
| Steakhouse or carvery where vegans rarely book | One vegan main for mixed tables; skip the promotion |
| Considering a January discount on vegan dishes, like Maray | Only on dishes whose cash margin still beats your meat dishes |
When do people search for Veganuary?
In the week after Christmas, and interest is gone by the middle of January.
Our analysis of Google Trends weekly search interest for "veganuary" in the UK (five years to October 2026, downloaded 5 November 2026) shows the same shape every year: a small rise before Christmas, a peak in the week of New Year's Day or the one after, and a fast fall.
| Season | Peak week starts | Peak (highest week = 100) | Two weeks after the peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2 January 2022 | 95 | 23 |
| 2023 | 1 January 2023 | 100 | 17 |
| 2024 | 31 December 2023 | 66 | 19 |
| 2025 | 29 December 2024 | 49 | 15 |
| 2026 | 28 December 2025 | 40 | 15 |
Two things follow. First, UK search interest at the January 2026 peak was 40% of the 2023 peak, so plan for a steady trickle of plant-curious guests, not a wave. Second, the useful window is short: your dishes, website menu and Google Business Profile should show them by Monday 28 December 2026, and the promotion has done most of its work by about Monday 11 January. Run the dishes all month, but judge them on sales, not on searches. The rest of the month's plan, from lapsed regulars to midweek offers, is in our January marketing guide.
Method: Trends scales each series so its highest week is 100, and its data is sampled, so a re-run can move a figure by a few points.
Are vegan ingredients cheaper than meat in 2026?
Some are, and the gap has opened over five years. Our analysis of the Office for National Statistics consumer price indices (the MM23 dataset, September 2026 figures, downloaded 5 November 2026) compares price changes for the main ingredient groups:
| ONS CPI class | 5 years to Sept 2026 | 12 months to Sept 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Beef and veal | +58.3% | -0.7% |
| Lamb and goat | +55.8% | +5.8% |
| Pork | +41.7% | -1.3% |
| Poultry | +29.8% | -0.7% |
| Fresh vegetables (not potatoes) | +39.9% | +3.5% |
| Potatoes | +40.3% | -1.3% |
| Dried and preserved vegetables (the class that holds pulses) | +30.5% | 0.0% |
| Olive oil | +112.2% | +0.6% |
| Dried fruit and nuts | +33.1% | +3.6% |
The ONS's more detailed item indices for 2026 (consumption segments, January to September 2026) add one warning. Between January and September 2026 (the September index against January = 100), vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes rose 5.8%, while canned and jarred vegetables and pulses fell 2.9% and fresh mushrooms fell 1.0%.
These are shop prices, not your wholesale prices, so treat them as direction, not as your costs. The direction is clear enough to give a rule: build January dishes on pulses, grains, roots, brassicas and mushrooms, and treat meat substitutes, nuts and olive oil as the lines that move your cost. Chicken has risen least of the meats, so a vegan dish priced against chicken has the smallest gap to win.
How do I cost a vegan dish?
Cost it line by line, per portion, then price it to cash margin, not just to a gross profit percentage. A vegan dish often hits 85% GP easily; the question is whether it puts as many pounds in the till as the dish a guest would otherwise order.
The steps:
- Write the recipe for one portion, by weight, including oil, garnish and sauce. Those small lines are where vegan dishes hide their cost.
- Allow for trim. Squash, cauliflower and leeks lose a lot to peeling and trimming. Cost the raw weight you buy, not the weight on the plate.
- Add a waste allowance of about 5% for a new dish you are not yet forecasting well.
- Divide the menu price by 1.2 if you are VAT-registered, then subtract the cost. That is the cash margin per portion.
- Compare it with the dish beside it on the menu. If the vegan dish earns the same or more cash, you can price it lower and still win.
The food cost calculator and our GP calculator guide cover the formulas.
Dish sheet 1: chickpea, squash and spinach curry with rice
Supplier prices are illustrative. Replace them with yours.
| Ingredient (one portion) | Cost |
|---|---|
| Chickpeas, cooked from dried (50g dry at £2.20/kg) | £0.11 |
| Butternut squash (190g raw for 150g usable, £1.60/kg) | £0.30 |
| Spinach (40g at £6.00/kg) | £0.24 |
| Onion, garlic and ginger (70g) | £0.10 |
| Chopped tomatoes (100g at £1.20/kg) | £0.12 |
| Coconut milk (80ml at £2.50 a litre) | £0.20 |
| Spices and oil | £0.12 |
| Basmati rice (75g dry at £2.40/kg) | £0.18 |
| Coriander and lime | £0.10 |
| Total | £1.47 |
| With 5% waste allowance | £1.54 |
At £14.00 on the menu, the net price is £11.67, food cost is 13.2% and the cash margin is £10.13. The same curry made with 160g of chicken thigh at £7.50/kg instead of the chickpeas and squash costs £2.37 with the allowance. At £15.00 it also earns £10.13. The vegan version can sit £1 cheaper and earn the same.
Dish sheet 2: mushroom, lentil and ale pie with mash and greens
| Ingredient (one portion) | Cost |
|---|---|
| Mixed mushrooms (150g at £5.00/kg) | £0.75 |
| Green lentils (40g dry at £2.50/kg) | £0.10 |
| Onion, carrot and celery (120g) | £0.15 |
| Ale confirmed vegan (60ml at £3.00 a litre) | £0.18 |
| Vegan stock, tomato purée and herbs | £0.08 |
| Vegan puff pastry lid (80g at £4.00/kg) | £0.32 |
| Mash: potatoes (250g at £0.92/kg) | £0.23 |
| Mash: oat drink and plant-based spread | £0.12 |
| Seasonal greens (80g at £3.00/kg) | £0.24 |
| Gravy (100ml) | £0.15 |
| Total | £2.32 |
| With 5% waste allowance | £2.44 |
At £16.50, the net price is £13.75, food cost is 17.7% and the cash margin is £11.31. A beef and ale pie using 180g of chuck at £13/kg in place of the mushrooms and lentils costs £4.00 with the allowance and, at £17.50, earns £10.58. Here the vegan pie is £1 cheaper and earns 73p more.
Note the allergens this pie carries before you print anything: celery, and cereals containing gluten from the pastry and the ale. Vegan is not the same as allergen-free.
How should I list vegan dishes on the menu?
There is no legal definition of vegan food in UK law, but gov.uk's labelling guidance says businesses must label food accurately and not mislead. A vegan label means no ingredients of animal origin were intentionally used. It does not promise that the kitchen is free of milk, egg or fish: where you have identified a risk of cross-contamination, the guidance expects you to say so, for example with a "may contain" note, and it tells guests with those allergies not to assume a vegan dish is safe for them.
The allergen rules themselves are in our Natasha's Law guide, and the allergen matrix template is where the two new dishes need to go before service.
Use this checklist before the dishes go on the menu, the website or a chalkboard:
VEGANUARY MENU CHECKLIST
Recipe
[ ] Every component checked for animal ingredients, including:
stock cubes, gravy granules, Worcestershire sauce (anchovy),
pesto (cheese), honey, butter or egg wash on pastry and bread,
mayonnaise, ghee, fish sauce, gelatine in desserts
[ ] Beer, wine and cider in the recipe confirmed vegan by the
supplier (some use animal-derived finings)
[ ] Bought-in items checked against the supplier's current spec,
not last year's
Kitchen
[ ] Fryer, grill and boards for the vegan dishes agreed; if oil or
equipment is shared with fish or dairy, the menu says so
[ ] Garnish and finishing butter removed from the plating spec
[ ] Allergens for both dishes added to the allergen matrix
Menu wording
[ ] Dish name leads with the main ingredient, not "vegan option"
[ ] "(VE)" or "(vegan)" shown, with the key on the same page
[ ] Shared-equipment note in the key, if it applies
[ ] Price set from the dish sheet, against the dish beside it
[ ] Same wording on the website, Google profile and delivery menus
Team
[ ] Front of house can name every allergen in both dishes
[ ] Team knows what "vegan" on our menu does and does not promise
[ ] Dishes go live by Monday 28 December; review date set for
Monday 1 February
Should I keep the dishes after January?
Keep the dish that earns its place, and that test is the same in February as in any month. On Monday 1 February, pull four weeks of sales for each section of the menu and check two numbers per dish: how many portions it sold against the section average, and its cash margin against the section average.
| Result at the end of January | Decision |
|---|---|
| Sells at least half the section average, margin at or above average | Keep it on the menu |
| Sells well, margin below average | Keep it and reprice or re-spec it |
| Sells poorly, margin above average | Keep it one more month with better placement or wording |
| Sells poorly, margin below average | Drop it |
This is a simple version of menu engineering. Our menu engineering guide takes the same idea across the whole menu. If you are also planning a no and low drinks list for the same month, see our Dry January guide.
Can TablePort handle this for you?
TablePort Stock Management covers the costing half of this guide:
- Cost each dish as you build it. The recipe builder shows the plate cost as you add ingredients, with trim loss on recipe lines, so you can compare it with the price you plan to charge.
- Watch supplier prices. Prices come from the invoices you receive, and when one moves, the dishes that use it move with it.
- Tag the dish. Mark it vegan, one of seven dietary preferences, and set its 14 allergens on the item. Allergen information should be checked against your recipe before you publish.
- Review at the end of the month. The menu engineering report shows which dishes sell and earn, and which do not.
The limit: TablePort records what you tag. It does not check that a dish is vegan. See stock management.
Frequently asked questions
- Do restaurants need a separate vegan menu for Veganuary?
No. Two well-costed vegan dishes, clearly marked on your normal menu, cover most guests. A separate menu adds printing and training for a month in which UK search interest peaks in the first week and falls fast.
- When is Veganuary 2027?
It runs through January, from Friday 1 January to Sunday 31 January 2027. UK search interest usually peaks in the week of New Year's Day, so have your dishes live by Monday 28 December 2026.
- Does it cost anything for a restaurant to take part in Veganuary?
No. Veganuary says business participation is free and that you do not need to confirm it. You can use #Veganuary2027 on social media, or ask the charity for its logos and materials.
- Is vegan food cheaper to make than meat dishes?
Often, if the dish is built on pulses, grains, roots and mushrooms. ONS price data shows beef up 58.3% and lamb up 55.8% in the five years to September 2026, against 30.5% for dried and preserved vegetables. Meat substitutes are the exception: they rose 5.8% between January and September 2026.
- Is a vegan dish safe for a guest with a milk allergy?
Not automatically. gov.uk's guidance says a vegan label means no animal ingredients were intentionally used, not that the dish is free of traces. If the kitchen shares fryers or boards with dairy, egg or fish, say so on the menu and tell the guest.
- Should I discount vegan dishes in January?
Only if the discounted dish still earns as much cash as the dishes it replaces. Maray's 50% midweek offer worked, its managing director said, because the dishes use higher-GP ingredients. Run the dish sheet at the discounted price before you promise it.
