A ‘vegan fair’ will run for the second consecutive summer, organisers have announced.

After an “extremely successful” launch in 2018, organiser Vente Viteikaite has confirmed the festival will run again this August - and will be even bigger.

There will be 70 stalls, displaying everything from food and cosmetics to ethical jewellery and recipe books - and, potentially, Greggs vegan rolls.

Ms Viteikaite, 38, said: “Last year was a huge success, even though no one expected it to be. Vendors didn’t bring enough staff and everything sold out within a few hours - even the perfume!”

She added that St Albans was the perfect city to host the festival.

She said: “St Albans is very progressive with a big community of vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians and a lot of people involved in fitness and health.”

Originally from Lithuania, where she also hosted vegan-themed events, Ms Viteikaite, who works in PR, will now hold the fair in five cities across the country.

The announcement timing coincides with ‘Veganuary’, where people try a vegan diet for the month, and Ms Viteikaite noted that more and more people are getting involved with the movement every year - statistics show that more than 168,000 took part in 2018.

She added: “Veganism has grown so much that supermarkets are now competing with each other over the vegan product market.”

Figures show that the number of Brits changing to a vegan diet permanently is rising exponentially, with a GlobalData study showing 42 oer cent of UK vegans making the change in the past 12 months.

The backlash over the introduction of a vegan sausage roll into Greggs has not put off Ms Viteikaite from endorsing the product, hinting that they make make an appearance at the fair.

Although the fair recently received an application from national cosmetics company Lush, the organiser stressed the importance of local business representation.

“I want local businesses to join as well. It could be a meeting of local people and local businesses, and create a real sense of community in St Albans”, she said.

St Albans Vegan Fair will be held on August 26 at Westminster Lodge from 10am - tickets can be purchased from https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/st-albans-vegan-fair-fast-track-ticket-with-a-goodie-bag-tickets-54445214101.