West London business The Artisan Bakery has rolled out a vegan range of pastries.

The croissants, pains au chocolat and pains au raisin use soya milk, rapeseed oil and sustainably sourced palm oil as an alternative to dairy products.

During the six-month development period the bakery offered taste tests to its customers, which include Kew Botanical Gardens, Mews of Mayfair and Iberica.

Andrew Murray, CEO of Artisan Bakery, said the company was filling the gap for high-quality vegan pastries that he described as “incredibly elusive”.

“Our biggest challenge was to develop a type of shortening that stood up to the taste of French butter. It was incredibly important to get the recipe exactly right,” said Murray.

“Any pastry chef would agree that the defining qualities of a good croissant are warmth, butteriness, lightness and fluffiness, so replacing half the ingredients was a big risk, which is why it has taken us six months of development to create the perfect, equivalent, if not better, recipe.”

The bakery is expecting an increase in orders for its range after receiving positive feedback from customers across London, including Camden-based vegan café The Fields Beneath.

British Baker subscribers can view our Vegan Bakery feature, which discusses how bakers of all sizes are catching on to the trend.