THE late-night launch of Greggs' vegan steak bake was met with 20-minute queues, after over 300,000 people signed up to take part in Veganuary.

KFC and Subway are also among a number of companies releasing snacks free from meat and animal products, as they attempt to emulate the huge success of Greggs' vegan sausage roll last year.

Wednesday night's release event in Newcastle for Greggs' new pastry - filled with pieces of meat substitute Quorn, diced onions and gravy - saw over 100 queue to be the first to try the product.

Vegan Emma Phillips queued for around 20 minutes and said she "really liked" the bake, adding it is "better than the vegan sausage roll".

"My son isn't vegan and is always ready to criticise vegan food, but even he said he'd gladly buy that over the meat-based option," she told the PA news agency.

Warrington Guardian: The queue in Newcastle for the launch. Pic credit: Canny Food/PA Wire The queue in Newcastle for the launch. Pic credit: Canny Food/PA Wire

The release of Greggs' vegan sausage roll last January saw the company's profits soar more than 52% to £36.7 million for the 26 weeks to June 29 2019.

The new Vegan Steak Bake means that the UK’s vegans, flexitarians and Meat-Free Monday advocates can enjoy an alternative to one of Greggs’ iconic menu items.

It will be available for £1.55, initially across 1,300 shops from today, January 2 and rolling out to a further 700 shops on January 16.

You can check when your nearest shop will be getting them in stock by using Greggs vegan steak bake tracker by clicking here