Changing the Narrative: Seitanic and the Rise of Plant-Based Blackpool

It's clear that Blackpool as a space has remained important for cultural and economic changes, be it from a subculture aspect, entertainment or culinary aspect, Blackpool has provided some great new concepts in all corners of the hospitality industry from its infamous night-life to its rapidly changing street food scene and vast new dietary movements, with the increase in Veganism, Jordan from Preston born “Seitanic” a plant-based seitan kebab hotspot talked to us about everything he has discovered on his journey and just how important Blackpool has been for that journey.

“3 years ago (before seitanic) I previously worked in recruitment and part time at a brewery in which we would have a lot of street food traders at the weekend, I had always been into cooking but once I went vegan I became a lot more conscious about what it was I was cooking, not just from a meat-free standpoint but also from the view of where the food was coming from, what was inside it, what the pro’s and con’s of each item where.”

A statistic from Finder noted that a whopping 6.3% of UK adults are planning to follow a vegan diet in 2026, although 6.3% may seem an insignificant number, that's around 3.5 million people. Veganism has reached an ever growing culinary significance especially within the street food industry with 83% of street food vendors inside Abingdon Street Market offering a minimum of 1 vegan alternative on their menu.

Continuing Jordan said “I decided that I wouldn't mind giving the street food thing a shot, so the original concept of Seitanic came around when I decided to play around with plant proteins, because although common, Tofu wasn't a satisfying option for me, I had had iterations of plant-based donner meats in the past as there was another business local to me called Big Buddah’s in Wigan, which at the time was way ahead of the curve as this was around 3 or 4 years ago not long post-covid. After I had stumbled and played around with the donner meat concept I took it to my Uncle Stu who is a huge meat-eater so I thought who better to try this out on than someone who eats nothing but the real thing? Stu was super into it and said how good it was so the brewery I was working at were kind enough to let me do a pop-up there and that’s kind of the very first iteration of the Seitanic you see today was born”

The community as a whole plays a huge part in any small business especially those that go off-the-beaten-track with new and interesting ideas. When Jordan joined ASM back in 2024 as a temporary vendor it was a huge leap in a new direction, how would Blackpool receive this? Would it be successful? Would it fit the venue and add to what is an already existing establishment? Seitanic, welcomed with open arms has become a staple in the plant-based cuisine and Street Food roster within Blackpool with their own community of regulars, supporters and network of other local businesses.

“The vegan community is quite close-nit anyway be it in social media groups or in the real world, without them I probably wouldn’t have a business, people sharing it, supporting it, spreading the word and taking time to travel here and try it out, we’ve worked with some great people like Chorley Vegan Society which has visited our other location before and in Blackpool it’s no different, there's a big scene for it here and community means quite a lot to us not just as a business but as individuals”

“I didn't realise the community Blackpool had in this industry, my background in Blackpool (similar to most) was going on the prom, perhaps going in the bars, partying etc, its great to see the other side of that and discover this quirky underbelly of Blackpool, when I spoke to ASM before joining I obviously knew this building was cool but didn't know what came along with it. Seeing the community and creatives that are super receptive of what we’re doing is really nice to see and be a part of”

Despite its national heritage of being a party town and the gold coast for entertainment throughout the years Blackpool is becoming a hub for people who see opportunities at every corner, who see chances to create something better than what came before it. Although that mindset doesn't come without its hurdles, It's no secret that the hospitality industry is one of the hardest industry to exist alongside that culinary trends and concepts are something that change everyday, typing to keep up with that is a challenge in itself, a challenge that more and more food spots are taking on and finding a solution for.

“Its certainly a dynamic sector, I think that hospitality has been one of the sectors that’s been squeezed out over the years, possibly forgotten about. I think factors like the VAT in particular is a struggle, a lot of businesses are closing because of the pressure, I think we’re seeing a resurgence now though with the rise of food halls like Abingdon Street Market, I think restaurants are becoming outdated to a degree, there's always going to be a place for them within the industry, people want to visit spaces where they are not set to one specific cuisine or menu. I think people are super susceptible to whatever they see on social media too, any business starting whether it be in hospitality or outside of hospitality they always have to keep up/push themselves via these new platforms and trends.”

Similar to the other chats I had whilst we did this campaign I wanted to highlight that Seitanic is here to stay and that it's an extremely exciting prospect with what Jordan and his team are doing. Being in an industry that is as cutthroat as it is, its easy to get lost in the moment and not take a second to realise what you’ve achieved and how far you have come.

“I would say the thing I'm most proud of is staying true to who we are, sticking to the original mentality of good vegan food and building a community around that, I had a gentleman say to me that we were the reason he decided to go vegan, that’s something I’ve always wanted to achieve, to showcase how good vegan food can be and change the narrative around that.” Jordan said when we discussed what pride meant to him within his business.

Jordan and his team at Seitanic can be found inside Abingdon Street Market open from 12pm - 9pm Wednesday - Sunday: https://www.instagram.com/seitanicuk/