Veganuary—a corporation that encourages and helps folks to take away animal merchandise from their plates for the month of January—has been rising steadily for a number of years. In 2024, greater than a decade after it was based, the initiative introduced its greatest yr but, with 1.8 million sign-ups worldwide.
In 2025, it’s set to develop once more by increasing to new nations like Peru, Malaysia, and Canada. And with the assistance of its new “Bizarre” marketing campaign, the group is hoping to encourage extra sign-ups than ever.
Veganuary
Veganuary’s new marketing campaign is exclusive; it doesn’t simply focus predominantly on the well being and environmental advantages of following a plant-based weight loss program. As a substitute, it’s targeted on highlighting the “weirdness” of consuming animal merchandise within the first place. “Most of us see the meals we grew up with as ‘regular’ however once we cease to ponder the practices behind many acquainted meals, they begin to look a little bit bit bizarre,” says Toni Vernelli, Veganuary’s worldwide head of coverage and communications.
Veganuary’s new ‘bizarre’ marketing campaign
The brand new marketing campaign from Veganuary is already in full swing, with adverts operating throughout social media platforms. On high of this, the adverts are additionally set to run on the streaming platform ITVX, which is run by ITV, one of many UK’s main broadcast networks.
Every of the adverts follows the same theme: the query “Bizarre?” is proven alongside thought-provoking, jarring photographs. For instance, a pig with a sausage for a physique is depicted, which goals to spotlight that “sausages are actually pigs stuffed into their very own intestines,” in response to Veganuary. One other reveals a slab of steak on a plate with a burning forest on high, which goals to convey the truth that “animal farming is the main reason behind deforestation.”
Veganuary
One picture reveals a cow-print mug with udders popping out of the highest, which goals to symbolize the fact of the dairy business (“cows make milk to feed their infants, identical to our moms do,” the wording reads), whereas one other reveals a rooster with a nugget-like coating on their physique. The wording subsequent to the latter reads: “Rooster comes from birds bred to develop so quick that usually they’ll barely stand. Bizarre to consider the struggling behind that crispy coating?”
The thought behind the marketing campaign is to problem the societal conditioning round consuming animal merchandise. Most individuals describe themselves as animal lovers (practically 90 million Individuals, for instance, share their houses with a companion animal), and but they eat meat. It’s because more often than not, we don’t see animals on cramped, industrialized, pollutive manufacturing unit farms (the place 99 p.c of them are raised for the meals business), however we see meat or dairy wrapped in plastic within the grocery store or the grocery retailer. This permits society to keep away from connecting one with the opposite.
“Veganuary is asking everybody to face the startling actuality of how our meals decisions affect animals and the planet,” provides Vernelli. “And take into account whether or not attempting vegan for January may simply be rather less bizarre.”
Veganuary’s rising success
Proper now, a shift is going on around the globe. Extra folks than ever are selecting to scale back their meat consumption for his or her well being or the planet, if not reducing it out utterly. In 2023, information confirmed that UK meat consumption, for instance, was at its lowest degree since information started within the Seventies.
Veganuary is without doubt one of the initiatives that has helped to lift consciousness of the advantages of shifting away from animal merchandise. Based in 2013, the initiative actually began to achieve momentum in 2017, when 50,000 folks signed as much as give the problem of going plant-based for one month a attempt. By 2023, that quantity had rocketed to just about 707,000 folks all around the world. In 2024, it had surged to just about 2 million.
The foremost rise was, partially, as a result of new manner that Veganuary determined to measure participation. Earlier than, it merely counted sign-ups to its e-mail, however in 2024, it determined to incorporate numbers from codecs like its social media content material and cookbook gross sales, too.
The Official Veganuary Cookbook
Veganuary has a powerful success charge; its follow-up survey in 2023, for instance, confirmed that 80 p.c of contributors had reduce their consumption of animal-based meals by 50 p.c or extra. On high of this, 28 p.c of contributors stated they opted to stay 100% plant-based.
But it surely’s not simply people who find themselves drawn to Veganuary. A number of restaurant chains additionally select to have fun the marketing campaign by launching their very own meatless menus for January. For instance, in 2024, the favored world chain of rock and roll-themed eating places Exhausting Rock Cafe added a brand new Veganuary menu.
“As folks grow to be extra conscious of the unimaginable affect our meals decisions have on the well being of our planet, attitudes in direction of veganism are altering all over the place,” stated Vernelli in an announcement. “Veganuary’s pleasant, non-judgmental, just-give-it-a-go-for-a-month-and-see-what-you-think method has undoubtedly performed an instrumental position on this shift.”
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Charlotte is a VegNews editor and author based mostly in sunny Southsea on England’s southern coast.