THE SIGNIFICANCE OF V-LABEL

V-label is an internationally accepted, registered and easily recognizable label used to mark vegan and vegetarian products all over the world. It was founded in 1996 in Switzerland, where the head office of the International V-label is still located today, with the constant support of the European Vegetarian Union as a partner organization. Today, more than 50,000 products globally carry the V-label license, in order to facilitate the daily purchase of food, cosmetic and other products in 30 countries and 20 languages around the world. Association "EVA" is the authorized representative and general partner of V-label International, and as such is authorized in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina to issue this license to companies whose products meet the generally accepted standards and principles of V-label.

 The main goal of this label is to enable consumers to easily recognize products without ingredients of animal origin. Although it is primarily intended for vegetarians and vegans, it also helps many other categories of the population who, for religious, health or ethical reasons, cannot or do not want to consume food of animal origin. Every day, an increasing number of companies decide to label their products with this sign, in order to indicate the policy they implement within their business, and to offer their customers a transparent and controlled product of verified quality.

 There are many reasons for labeling products with the V-label. The research conducted in 2021, which included 23,000 consumers from over 40 countries of the world, showed that as many as 91% of consumers internationally prefer to choose a product that is marked with the V-label instead of independently checking the ingredients of the product, while as many as 61% exclusively look for the V-label mark on products they buy. Also, about 52% of respondents stated that they would definitely buy a product that has the V-label on it, while 34% of them declared that they would even pay a higher price for a certain product if it had this label on it. This percentage plays a very big role for companies, especially for those that are oriented towards exporting products and placing them on the EU market, where the vegetarian and vegan food sector has grown by 49% in the last four years.

Research conducted on this topic also shows various indicators that in the future, interest in vegan and vegetarian food will continue to grow, and it is predicted that by 2026, the value of the vegan and vegetarian industry will more than double compared to 2018. It is also interesting to note that in a large number of countries around the world, in 2020, sales of vegan products doubled compared to other food products.