Press release -
Virgin Trains offers first Vegan Society-registered wrap
- New partnership launched with Vegan Society
- Hummus & pomegranate wrap first VS-approved product of 2019
- Follows high demand for more vegan options after success of “Veganuary”
Virgin Trains has launched a new wrap approved by the Vegan Society after forming a partnership with the charity to provide more plant-based food.
The Hummus and pomegranate wrap has gone on sale in Virgin’s onboard shops following a rigorous registration process by the Vegan Society to ensure all its ingredients are free from animal products.
The partnership was formed after Virgin Trains became the first train operator to offer vegan-friendly options on all its menus last December.
The latest addition to its menu comes as Virgin Trains responded to customers who said they wanted to extend “Veganuary” to the rest of 2019 or simply cut down on their meat and dairy intake.
Julie Harper, Virgin Trains’ Food & Beverage Proposition Manager, said she had been overwhelmed by the response to becoming fully vegan-friendly in December.
“The response from our customers has been really positive. Vegans who want reassurance that they’ll be looked after onboard have welcomed this but we’ve also had great feedback from non-vegans. We’re delighted to be working with the Vegan Society and hope to be launching more products officially registered by them through the year.”
Elena Orde, Communications and Campaigns Officer at The Vegan Society, said: “We've been campaigning for decent vegan options on trains through our Vegan on the Go campaign and it's great to see Virgin respond with products that anyone can enjoy. Market trends are showing a rapid growth in plant-based eating, particularly around this time of year when people are following on from their New Year’s resolutions to try a vegan diet as part of Veganuary. We hope that other train companies will follow Virgin's lead and take notice of the power of the vegan pound.”
More than 250,000 people signed up to Veganuary last month, more than in the previous four years combined, for ethical or health reasons.
Virgin Trains’ partnership with the Vegan Society, the oldest vegan charity in the world, was launched to underscore its commitment to incorporating tasty vegan options into all its menus.
The Hummus and pomegranate wrap was certified with help from Virgin’s sandwich supplier, Street Eats, and is available for £3.90 from its onboard shop.
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About Virgin Trains
Stagecoach and Virgin are working in partnership to operate the West Coast inter-city route under the Virgin Trains brand, revolutionising travel on one of the UK’s key rail arteries.
The network connects some of the nation’s most iconic destinations including Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and London.
Virgin Trains is committed to delivering a high speed, high frequency service, offering shorter journey times, more comfortable travel and excellent customer service. Customers consistently rate Virgin Trains ahead of other long-distance rail franchise operators in the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) commissioned by industry watchdog, Transport Focus.
Virgin Trains has a proud record of challenging the status quo - from introducing tilting Pendolino trains, to a pioneering automated delay repay scheme, introducing the industry-leading onboard entertainment streaming service, BEAM, and becoming the first franchised rail operator to offer m-Tickets for all ticket types.
Virgin Trains operated the East Coast route between March 1, 2015 and June 24, 2018. In that time, we invested £75m to create a more personalised travel experience, including over £40m in the existing fleet. Customers have benefitted from 48 additional services between Edinburgh and London every week, and an extra 22 Saturday services between Leeds and London – a total of 1.74 million additional seats since May 2015.
Working together, the partnership railway of the public and private sectors has published a long-term plan, called In Partnership for Britain’s Prosperity, to change and improve Britain’s railway. The plan will secure almost £85bn of additional economic benefits to the country whilst enabling further investment and improvement, and contains four commitments which will see rail companies: strengthen our economic contribution to the country; improve customers’ satisfaction; boost the communities we serve; and, create more and better jobs in rail. For more information go to Britain Runs on Rail.
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