Earlier this month, Richard Coggon, who held the position of UK Commercial Director, received a promotion to UK Managing Director. In addition, Phil Eden has joined the team as the Group Chief Financial Officer.
As UK Managing Director, Coggon now oversees all brands and operations of Vegan Food Group (VFG) in the UK, including VFC, Meatless Farm, and Clive’s Purely Plants, along with own-label contracts. Before joining VFG, Richard amassed over a decade of experience at Morrisons, followed by senior sales roles within the beverage and confectionery sectors.
In expressing his excitement about his new role, Coggon said: “I am both excited and honoured to be leading the UK division of VFG. There are numerous exciting opportunities ahead, and we will be placing a greater emphasis on these prospects.”
“Our focus will be on aligning the entire team, ensuring that we work cohesively towards achieving our shared goals, for our business, customers and ultimately consumers.”
Meanwhile, Eden succeeded Daniel Hardesty and brings extensive FMCG experience from Grupo Bimbo. His primary responsibility will be to enhance group-level integration across VFG’s operations in both the UK and Germany.
“I am thrilled to join The Vegan Food Group at this time,” Eden remarked. ”I believe the business is well placed to make an impact within the market and to provide consumers with a range of fantastic vegan options.”
Group CEO Dave Sparrow welcomed both appointments, expressing his optimism about the company’s future despite facing challenges in the plant-based category.
Meatless Farm Achieves Success
In a separate update from the Vegan Food Group, Nielsen data has recently indicated that Meatless Farm’s ‘Beef Style Mince’ emerged as the top-selling 100% plant-based mince product in the UK during 2024.
This brand experienced a remarkable value growth of nearly 70% last year, accompanied by unit growth of over 71.5%. Meatless Farm’s product is available in major supermarkets, including Asda, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco, priced at £3.30 per pack.
Commenting on this achievement, Lydia Brook stated: “Holding our position as the UK’s number one plant-based mince throughout 2024 – and outperforming the category by 30.6% – is something we are very proud of. It reflects the demand we are seeing for good quality products at an everyday affordable price and commends the hard work of our development team in creating the perfect taste and texture to keep shoppers buying again and again. As more consumers consider reducing their meat intake or switching to meat-free alternatives, we will continue our commitment to making Meatless Farm the go-to standard in quality meat swaps.”
