Quorn claims sales lift in light of horsemeat controversy

By John Reynolds, marketingmagazine.co.uk, Wednesday, 06 February 2013 11:44AM

Quorn, the meat substitute brand, is claiming that its sales have risen by up to 10% on the year in January, the month which witnessed the outbreak of the horsemeat scandal that forced Tesco to withdraw thousands of beefburgers from its shelves.

Quorn: meat substitute brand says sales are up 10% year on year

Tesco took thousands of beefburgers off its shelves after tests showed samples were found to contain horsemeat DNA

The contamination issue has also impacted on Burger King and Asda, and today, Findus withdrew its beef lasagne range.

Kevin Brennan, chief executive of Quorn Foods, referring to the horsemeat scandal said:  "It is raising concerns about products and there is no doubt that our sales have been strong year on year in January."

Brennan believes that the scandal has meant consumers are more concerned about the provenance of the meat they are now buying from supermarkets.

He said sales of its Quorn products – which include ready meals such as Mexican chilli, tikka masala and meat-free burgers – lifted as much as 10% on the year in January.

The company did not breakout specific sales figures for the period.

Brennan said: "We are monitoring sales. I can't say for definite it is connected to the horsemeat scandal, but we are witnessing very strong sales in January. And there is no doubt people are concerned."

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk