Vegan American pancakes launched by Central Foods

Frozen food distributor Central Foods has extended its free-from range for foodservice operators with the launch of a new vegan American pancake.

The move is in response to both the increase in demand for plant-based, vegan products and the growing appetite among consumers for eating out at breakfast and brunch.

All-day breakfasts are also becoming more popular, particularly with millennials - leading to rising demand from foodservice operators for easy-to-serve breakfast-style items that can be offered throughout the day and at various dining occasions.

“Central Foods has experienced significant increases in sales of American pancakes in recent years,” said Gordon Lauder, MD for Central Foods. “We have also seen a large percentage rise in the demand for vegan and plant-based products. Now we can offer vegan American pancakes from Crépe Cuisine which will satisfy both demands.”

The four and a half inch pancakes are made to a vegan recipe resulting in a fluffy American-style pancake that can be topped with both sweet and savoury options to create a breakfast item or light snack. Suitable for both vegetarians and vegans, the pancakes have a defrosted shelf-life of two days.

“Surveys and statistics continue to show that more people are either giving up meat, dairy and animal-derived products or are reducing their intake and eating less meat,” added Gordon. “More than 90% of households buy some kind of free-from product, according to Kantar Worldpanel. A study released by comparethemarket.com in 2018 suggests that more than 3.5 million British people now identify as being vegan, which is a big increase since 2016 when The Vegan Society revealed there were approximately 540,000 vegans over the age of 15 living in Britain. The number of ‘flexible vegans and vegetarians’ has grown too, with many happy to eat vegan or vegetarian food occasionally and some experimenting with a fully vegan or vegetarian diet.

We also know that breakfast is the fastest growing eating out occasion in the UK. There’s been a big rise in popularity of breakfast, brunch and all-day breakfasts. According to a recent report from Travelodge, 65% of Britons are socially dining out for breakfast twice a month, with many saying it suits their modern lifestyles and is a time-effective way of meeting for business or socially.

The new vegan American pancake should prove to be a convenient and versatile product to have in any professional foodservice kitchen.”