Rochdale's very first vegan market is coming to town this weekend

Date published: 21 July 2021

Rochdale’s very first vegan market is coming to town on Saturday (24 July).

The Vegan Market Co will take over Rochdale town centre’s Riverside Walk with up to 20 stalls including a huge variety of vegan street food, artisan bakes, craft cheeses, handmade cosmetics, ethical clothing and jewellery, arts and crafts, and charity stalls.

Known primarily as a dietary choice in which a person chooses not to eat meat, fish, eggs, dairy or honey, veganism is a wider lifestyle choice in which a person chooses not to consume or use any animal products or materials, including leather, wool, fur, avoiding products tested on animals and boycotting places that use animals for entertainment.

According to The Vegan Society, the number of vegans in Great Britain quadrupled in the five years between 2014 and 2019 (to 600,000, or 1.16% of the population). This is understood to have increased in 2021 to 3% of the population, or around 1.5million people.

Lewis Beresford, Vegan Market Co’s Founder, said: “We are so excited to be in Rochdale for the first time. We work hard to find the country’s leading vegan producers, from street food vendors and bakers to ethical clothing and cosmetic producers.

“We also work with many local businesses and can’t wait to give all of these fantastic producers the platform they deserve and introduce them to the wonderful people of Rochdale.”

The Rochdale Riverside Vegan Market will be held on Rochdale Riverside and will run from 10.30am to 4pm on Saturday 24 July.

The Vegan Market Co ran its first event in 2016, quickly growing to cover over 40 locations across the UK.

In addition to offsetting the carbon footprint from each event, the company also plants a tree for every business which takes part.