Food
Unfortunately, it is a truth universally acknowledged that many vegan shops are frozen in the 1970s. The great advances in marketing and consumer appeal appear to have gone unnoticed. The German Veganz chain is, apparently, to open a number of London stores, but we still wait.The major chains are starting to sell vegan products (Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsbury) and specialist retailers such as Holland & Barratt, Planet Organic and Wholefoods have a reasonable selection. Below, pending the arrival of Veganz, we list a few outlets with a bigger range of vegan products.
London
Vx, 73 Caledonian Road, London (020 7833 2315)
An Aladdin's cave of clothing, food and general vegan bric-a-brac! The setting has a slight whiff of dog blanket, but they have a good range of vegan food, and all-important vegan treats (which get delivered on a Friday by the way...), cake mix and biscuits.
www.vegancross.com
An Aladdin's cave of clothing, food and general vegan bric-a-brac! The setting has a slight whiff of dog blanket, but they have a good range of vegan food, and all-important vegan treats (which get delivered on a Friday by the way...), cake mix and biscuits.
www.vegancross.com
Alara Health Food, 58 - 60 Marchmont Street, London WC1N (020 7837 1172)
Food shop with allied cafe, next to the Brunswick centre in Bloomsbury. Be warned: it's quite pricey, but no surprise because you are in Bloomsbury. They do stock Laura's Ideas food things and their 'own brand' range. We enjoyed the buffet options but unfortunately the raw oreo we found looked better than it tasted. Sigh.
www.alarashop.com
Food shop with allied cafe, next to the Brunswick centre in Bloomsbury. Be warned: it's quite pricey, but no surprise because you are in Bloomsbury. They do stock Laura's Ideas food things and their 'own brand' range. We enjoyed the buffet options but unfortunately the raw oreo we found looked better than it tasted. Sigh.
www.alarashop.com
Brighton
Infinity Foods, 25 North Road, Brighton BN1 (01273 603563)
This shop sells exclusively vegetarian products, and has been run as a cooperative for over 40 years. They've even got a small bakery section at the back with clearly labelled vegan option pizzas and brownies. A firm favourite in Brighton.
www.infinityfoodsretail.co.uk
This shop sells exclusively vegetarian products, and has been run as a cooperative for over 40 years. They've even got a small bakery section at the back with clearly labelled vegan option pizzas and brownies. A firm favourite in Brighton.
www.infinityfoodsretail.co.uk
Hisbe, 20-21 York Place, Brighton BN1 (01273 608028)
Innovative, independent supermarket. It's fresh, clean and ethical! The supermarket was funded in part through crowdfunding, vouchers to shoppers in return for microloans and support from Gordon Roddick. There's even a little cafe at the front of the store, with the occasional vegan cake offering, so you can make yourself at home staring at traffic on York Place.
www.hisbe.co.uk
Innovative, independent supermarket. It's fresh, clean and ethical! The supermarket was funded in part through crowdfunding, vouchers to shoppers in return for microloans and support from Gordon Roddick. There's even a little cafe at the front of the store, with the occasional vegan cake offering, so you can make yourself at home staring at traffic on York Place.
www.hisbe.co.uk
