Sainsbury’s has added new vegan croissants and pains au chocolat to its range of bakery items.

The pastries from La Boulangère will roll out across 300 Sainsbury’s stores this week, priced at £2.50 for a pack of six.

Sainsbury’s said the addition came as a response to soaring demand, and was the fourth expansion since the supermarket launched its plant-based range in January 2018. The range now totals more than 100 products.

It added that it had seen an 82% increase in customers searching for vegan products online, and a 45% increase in sales of plant-based products year-on-year, as customers increasingly consider a vegetarian, vegan or flexitarian lifestyle.

Simon Millea, Viennoiserie buyer at Sainsbury’s, said: “We know that more of our customers than ever before are exploring plant-based lifestyles, so it’s very exciting to be the first UK supermarket to launch vegan versions of these bakery favourites.”