Published 21st Sep 2023, 17:23 BST

Meatless Farm fell into administration in June, with all staff at its Leeds site made redundant, before it was later bought out by fellow Yorkshire-based meat-free brand VFC. The firm previously employed roughly 50 staff according to its last company accounts, which were filed in April of this year. VFC noted at the time that redundancies were already in progress before it made an offer for the firm.

In its latest announcement, Meatless Farm said its best selling lines including plant-based mince will be back in supermarket stores this week.

CEO of Meatless Farm and VFC, Dave Sparrow, said: “Our customers and consumers are our number one priority, and we are delighted to deliver on our commitment of getting the range back on shelf for them, as well as launching new product development that continues to stretch the brand into different consumption occasions.

Yorkshire-based Meatless Farm has announced a national comeback campaign which will see its products return to UK supermarket shelves.

“It’s fantastic to see the brand return to Retail and we’re all delighted to let everyone know that Meatless Farm is back for good via our national advertising campaign, encouraging consumers to make simple switches and give the brand a try.”

Before entering administration, Meatless Farm had struggled to return to profit after making a loss of £23.5 million in 2021. 2020 also saw the firm post losses of just over £15 million.

Advisory firm Kroll was brought in at the end of May to explore options for the firm, before joint administrators Jimmy Saunders and Geoff Bouchier were appointed on June 13. The company was then purchased by VFC in a deal worth £12 million in sales.

As part of its national comeback effort, Meatless Farm is set to launch a new advertising campaign, titled For The Tryers, which will encourage non-vegetarians and non-vegans to try its products. The campaign will run from 25 September to 22 October, and aims to reach over 8 million consumers.

The ads will be integrated with a £2 off coupon which shoppers can redeem on the Meatless Farm range. The firm is also set to launch a new range of pasta dishes, as well as relaunching its Chickenless Roast Joint early next week.

The news comes as a number of meat alternative brands are facing increased pressures.

Last month, US-based Beyond Meat announced that its sales had fallen by almost a third. Lincolnshire-based Plant & Bean, which previously supplied companies including Quorn and Tesco, also fell into administration in June of this year.

Yorkshire-based Heck announced earlier this year that it was cutting its meat-free range down to two products from an initial ten, citing a lack of sales for the products.

Nestle also announced earlier this year that it was to stop selling its meat-free Garden Gourmet range in the UK.

Meatless Farm was launched in Leeds in 2016 by Danish entrepreneur Morten Toft Bech. In 2021, the firm ranked as one of Deloitte’s 50 fastest growing UK technology companies, the same year that it sold over £11 million worth of its plant-based meat alternatives.

Yorkshire-based Meatless Farm announces national comeback campaign after falling into administration earlier this year