VFC Foods is a British vegan food company that started trading in December 2020. An acronym for "Vegan Fried Chicken," it was founded by

Matthew Glover Matthew Glover is a British businessman and Animal rights movement, animal rights activist. He is the co-founder of the Veganuary movement, which his wife Jane Land helped to create. In 2019, Glover founded Generation Vegan (formerly known as Mi ...

and

Adam Lyons Adam Lyons is an American entrepreneur. He founded The Zebra, an insurance comparison website and REALLY Wireless, a telecommunications company. Education Lyons grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he attended Taylor Allderdice High Scho ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England. The company specialises in creating meat substitute products for fried chicken. Glover is the co-founder of the Veganuary movement and uses his experience in vegan activism to promote the brand. VFC expanded during its first year of trading, growing from an online store based in York to a company supplying products internationally.

PETA People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal right ...

have recognised VFC and awarded it with their "Best Vegan Chicken" accolade.

History

VFC uses plant-based ingredients such as wheat protein to create meat substitute foods that mimic fried chicken products. The products are coated in a cornflake crispy coating. VFC is an acronym for "vegan fried chick*n". The company was founded by

and Adam Lyons in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, United Kingdom. Glover is a businessman and vegan activist who alongside his wife helped creating the

Veganuary Veganuary is an annual challenge run by a UK nonprofit organisation that promotes and educates about the vegan lifestyle by encouraging people to follow a vegan diet for the month of January. Since the event began in 2014, participation has inc ...

movement in 2014. Lyons is a chef and restaurateur. The idea to create the business occurred when Glover attended Lyons' restaurant, Source. Glover ordered the vegan fried chicken menu option and wanted more people to try the product. Lyons' experience visiting a chicken farm made him determined to invest in veganism and launch the business. Their creation was also part of a protest against the

factory farming Intensive animal farming, industrial livestock production, and macro-farms, also known as factory farming, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to mass animal husbandry designed to maximize production while minimizing co ...

of chickens. At the time, Glover told Maxine Gordon from ''

The Press ''The Press'' () is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand, owned by media business Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday t ...

'' that "this is where food meets activism. This is our sit-down protest." VFC is one of the several vegan brands created in the Yorkshire region, helping to bolster the area's economy and reputation in the meat-free food business. Glover and Lyons worked with Born Ugly to create their branding. They used their brand image to promote junk food in a positive manner. This strategy was unconventional for the food category that usually promotes itself in a righteous way. The VFC packaging features stylised graffiti and vegan campaign messaging. Its main retail products are vegan chicken fillets, vegan chicken bites and vegan

popcorn chicken Popcorn chicken is a dish consisting of small, bite-sized pieces of chicken (about the size of popped corn kernels) that have been breaded and fried. The idea was originally developed by KFC in 1991, but heavily inspired by fried chicken street f ...

. The products were initially made available for purchase online only, via their own website store. Glover and Lyons employed a sales director to help them secure placements in British supermarkets. In their first month of trading, VFC amassed forty-eight thousand pounds in sales and ran low on stock due to unexpected consumer demand. In early 2021, £2.5 million was invested in the company from financial backers including Glover's own Veg Capital and the separate Johnson Resolutions. In October 2021, VFC secured their first deal with British supermarket

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...

to stock their products. That month, VFC won the "Best Vegan Chicken" accolade at the 2021

Vegan Food Awards. VFC expanded to international markets. In their first year, they began selling their products in Spain and the Netherlands. In September 2021, it was announced that VFC were launching their products in the United States. Glover also announced that they had attracted business interest in fifty additional countries. In December 2021, VFC showcased at the Plant Based World Expo in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

as one of the anchor stands. VFC has become known for its animal rights advocacy and promotional stunts, attracting media attention. In addition, the brand repeatedly shares bold and humorous slogans across social media. They partnered with the actor

Peter Egan Peter Joseph Egan (born 28 September 1946) is a British actor. He is known for television roles including Hogarth in '' Big Breadwinner Hog'' (1969), the future King George IV in ''Prince Regent'' (1979); smooth neighbour Paul Ryman in the sitco ...

and carried out undercover filming to expose conditions at a chicken factory farm in Shropshire. VFC have pledged to fight online harassment from

anti-vegan Vegaphobia, vegephobia is an aversion to, or dislike of, vegetarians and vegans. The term first appeared in the 2010s, coinciding with the rise in veganism in the late 2010s. Several studies have found an incidence of vegaphobic sentiments in ...

trolls on social media. Glover has stated that engaging with trolls helped to grow the brand's profile. Another publicity stunt VFC orchestrated was following only one account, the fast food chicken brand

KFC KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's se ...

on the social media platform

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. In 2021, the company stopped using the term "

plant-based A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods. It encompasses a wide range of dietary patterns that contain low amounts of animal products and high amounts of fiber-rich plant products such as vegetables, ...

" in its marketing material, instead focusing on using the term "vegan". In 2023, VFC bought the company

Meatless Farm Meatless Farm is a British company that produces veganism, vegan, Meat analogue, plant-based meats which are made primarily from pea protein. It was founded in 2016 by the Danish entrepreneur, Morten Toft Bech. History The company produces Meat ...

out of administration and products under that brand name will reappear in

Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...

supermarkets.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Food and drink companies established in 2020 Food brands of the United Kingdom Meat substitutes Vegetarian companies and establishments of the United Kingdom British companies established in 2020 Veganism in the United Kingdom Vegan cuisine Vegan brands