Green entrepreneurship in UK foods and the emergence of the alternative meat sector

Quorn 1965–2006

Bibliographic Data

ID6043683
AuthorsAndrew Godley (University of Sussex Business School, University of Sussex), Andrew C Godley (0000-0002-3160-2499, University of Sussex, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume67
Issue7
Pages1877-1903
Publication date2025-10-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBusiness History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-6791 • E-ISSN: 1743-7938
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00076791.2024.2354816
OpenAlexW4399027395
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited64

The pioneer in alternative proteins was the British company Marlow Foods, which created the world’s first mycoprotein product under the Quorn brand name. This article explores its emergence and development between 1965 and 2006. This case study supports three of the broad premises in the existing literature on business history of green entrepreneurship; that green innovation typically takes longer than non-green, is therefore more costly, and that green entrepreneurs are typically values- not profit-driven. The article then explores these premises and their consequences in the case of Quorn. With the long period between its inception and market acceptance in the 1990s, there was a significant continuity gap in Quorn’s environmental credentials. Quorn bridged that gap because of a sustained commitment to environmentalism that came via the legacy of its very influential founder. But it was the BSE crisis that permitted the product to move from vegetarian niche to the mainstream

Agricultural economics · Biology · Business · Economics · Entrepreneurship · Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact · Food Science · Food Waste Reduction and Sustainability · Organic Food and Agriculture

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