Consumer Taste for Plant-Based Foods Grows Globally as Burgeoning Market Reaches New Heights

Over the past decade, consumers have become more health-conscious and concerned about protecting the environment and preventing animal cruelty. As a result, when shoppers move along the aisles of a supermarket, they now pay particular attention to product packaging and labelling to deduce how the product was manufactured and what ingredients were used. Thus, many consumers have adopted a vegan lifestyle, preferring plant-based alternatives to animal-based products such as beef and dairy milk. Consequently, trends such as Veganuary, a global challenge urging consumers to go vegan in January, and Meatless Mondays have become increasingly popular.

As a result, US plant-based food sales rose to USD 8 billion in 2022, 6.6% more than USD 7.4 billion in 2021, and a 44.5% growth over the past three years. Plant-based milk remains the leading category, rising in sales by 8.5% to USD 2.8 billion, followed by plant-based meat, down 1% YoY to USD 1.4 billion. According to Grand View Research, global plant-based food sales are expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.6% between 2023 and 2030, reaching USD 37.45 billion in 2030.

Source: Tridge, Plant Based Foods Association

In the US, plant-based food sales reached USD 8 billion in 2022, a 6.6% YoY increase, due to growing demand for plant-based milk alternatives–such as almond milk, oat milk, and soy milk–a category that grew 8.5% YoY, tallying USD 2.8 billion. Rising popularity of plant-based meat is also evident. In the US, Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, two leading plant-based meat suppliers, have maintained significant sales growth in recent years. Impossible Foods, for instance, stated that sales of their plant-based burgers and sausages went up by 70% YoY to USD 137 million in 2022.

This growing vegan trend is also evident in Europe. According to the Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe), plant-based food sales across 13 countries including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the UK, reached a record EUR 5.8 billion in 2022, a 6% YoY increase. This was largely due to the increase in plant-based meat sales, which rose by 6% YoY to EUR 2 billion in 2022, and by 21% compared to 2020. Plant-based meat now accounts for 6% of the overall pre-packaged meat market in Europe. On the contrary, traditional meat sales fell by 8% between 2021 and 2022.

Despite the positive sales growth, the plant-based food sector's main shortcoming is price, as animal-based products remain significantly cheaper. According to the Good Food Institute, in 2022, plant-based milk in the US traded at USD 7.87 per gallon, 87% more than dairy milk at USD 4.21 per gallon. Plant-based meat, including alternatives to chicken, turkey, beef, and pork, traded at USD 7.38 per pound, 67% more than animal meat at USD 4.42 per pound. Additionally, plant-based eggs exhibited a higher price premium of 122%, at USD 6.29 per pound, compared to USD 2.83 per pound for chicken eggs. 

Source:  Tridge, GFI

Despite elevated prices, consumers continue to purchase these products as a lifestyle choice. However, given the inflationary pressures that have affected the food industry in 2023, companies fear that sales could decline, with consumers opting to buy less. As a result, many organisations set out to overcome these price premiums by investing in technology and innovative production methods to produce food with more nutritional value at lower costs. For example, in 2023, UK-based firm Multus Biotechnology aims to construct a production plant focused on ground-breaking innovation in cultivated meat production. Dutch dairy-giant FrieslandCampina Ingredients plans to develop and scale up the production of cell-based protein via precision fermentation. Meanwhile, Ohio-based Matrix F.T is developing cultivated chicken utilising edible microcarriers and scaffolds.

Other concerns voiced by consumers include the difference in taste of plant-based foods compared to animal-based products. However, technological advancements are constantly bringing the taste of plant-based foods closer to the traditional products that customers are used to. For example, German-based Project Eaden has recently launched an innovative fibre technology that can produce realistically marbled plant-based meat. In Finland, the VTT Technical Research Centre is developing processes to combine cellular-agriculture technology with under-utilised plant ingredients to create more sustainable meat alternatives.

Source: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

Tridge expects the plant-based food category to expand considerably over the next decade due to growing demand. In the US, plant-based meat sales have been slightly underwhelming in 2023 due to inflationary pressures, a trend that is expected to decrease in H2 2023, according to the USDA. Plant-based milk sales are expected to continue trending up due to purchase drivers such as concerns over the sustainability of the dairy industry and allergen-free diet preferences. Pricing could still remain an issue in the coming months. However, innovation in this industry is rapidly advancing, with cheaper end-products expected to enter the market in the coming years.

For further reading, follow the links below:

1. Growing Demand for Thai Jackfruit as People Turn to Veganism

2. The Global Plant-based Meat Protein Market Increases Rapidly