Market & Trends

The global vegan food market has grown enormously over the past ten years. As we know today that excessive animal farming is not the way to go to achieve a sustainable food system, members of the growing vegan society are increasingly aiming for a vegan food market without animal farming.

The diversity of the global vegan market

The vegan market consists of many diverse products, with a modern plant-based food production company ready to set its own trends in the market rather than following old ones. While the vegan market offers a truly global perspective in terms of growth and diversity, many companies for plant-based foods follow regional and country strategies.

Following a vegan diet is a trend by itself. Despite the common misconception that vegan and vegetarian diets lack protein, referring to the essential nutrients factor, plant protein-based meat and dairy options offer great protein content. The essential nutrients factor impacts the decisions of consumers. Problems such as inadequate calcium intake and high-quality protein issues are addressed by modern plant-based foods. Many very important minerals can be gathered from a vegan diet according to reliable high-quality data.

Latest market research findings suggest that especially the plant-based meat and dairy markets are rising fast. Especially among Gen Z and Millenials animal meat is losing relevance, so the market’s response is to increase plant-based products without animal-derived ingredients.

©NRF

Local strategies are meeting global success

Many companies create regional strategies and identify growth segments in the global vegan market for their countries. The compound annual growth rate of some companies is tremendous, with local data suggesting that countries like Great Britain, The United States, and Germany, are ahead in the production and consumption of vegan products.

Beyond the big markets, however, a silent but growing vegan revolution is taking place in most parts of the world. For instance, Thailand’s Let’s Plant Meat has been at the forefront of the burgeoning plant-based industry in the country since its inception, producing vegan meat alternatives such as burgers, mince, and katsu with locally grown ingredients.

While products from key competitors like Beyond Meat are too expensive and overall not well received by the locals, the domestic company understands the needs of local customers and accelerates the market for plant-based meat alternatives in the country.

©Lien Pham

Vegan market thrives due to increasing investment

Nowadays, for vegan businesses, private companies and publicly traded alike, to be estimated at several billion is no longer rare, especially among the vegan meat and dairy giants, including the global players like Impossible Foods and Oatly.

In 2020, investments in vegan food companies almost doubled, with particularly high growth for cultured meat. According to studies, the plant-based foods market could be worth $155 billion by 2027, with alt-protein potentially making up 11% of the global protein market by 2035. All of those are good reasons for vegan and non-vegan investors around the globe to get their hands on vegan investment opportunities.

©Nature’s Fynd

Transition towards a sustainable vegan market

Vegan food products

Although it is often claimed that vegan food products lack key nutrients for a healthy diet, the strong growth in veganism and research regarding the topic is proving them wrong. According to forecast data by Fortune Business Insights, The global vegan food market is projected to grow from $26.16 billion in 2021 to $61.35 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 12.95%.

In order to limit greenhouse gases and to reduce the risk of the next global pandemic, plant-based agriculture, in particular cellular agriculture, are very important to meet growing operational challenges in global food production. Cell-based technology, unlike conventional agriculture technology, hardly uses any farmland for the production of its cruelty-free products.

Although the use of animal cells in the production of meat and fish products will certainly not receive the vegan trademark, it is an effective method to counter the excess practice of traditional animal farming. According to a comprehensive report by multinational pharmaceutical company Merck, it will be necessary to design a completely new food system with a focus on sustainability, including alt-protein and cellular agriculture.

Vegan fashion and beauty products

As of 2022, veganism is no longer limited to a diet that is free from animal ingredients, but is increasingly developing into a global movement looking to implement ethical principles across all daily consumption patterns. Therefore, vegan fashion products are an important pillar of the vegan society.

In today’s fashion, one of the most controversial materials is animal-derived leather. Fortunately, an increasing number of customers are demanding cruelty-free and vegan alternatives to leather, accelerating the vegan leather movement around the world.

Another vegan product category on the rise is the vegan beauty market. As most consumers are looking for cruelty-free beauty products that are not involved in any animal testing, the label vegan is a strong selling argument. The majority of vegan cosmetics brands are meeting the demand by developing innovative recipes for their plant-based shampoos, skin-care, or cosmetic products without toxic or animal-derived ingredients.

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Singaporean Plant-Based Brands Expand Into Europe, Capitalizing on Growing Demand

September 25, 2023

Singaporean plant-based brands are increasingly taking advantage of rising demand elsewhere in the world to expand internationally, with a particular focus on Europe. The number of alt protein companies in Singapore has reportedly skyrocketed in recent years, as the country becomes increasingly concerned about food security and actively recruits scientists in the field. While the Singaporean alt protein market provides considerable opportunities, some companies are opting to make their success global. Among the most notable is plant-based chicken brand TiNDLE, which launched at hundreds of UK restaurants last year before rolling out at retail stores in the country this April. The brand is also available at thousands of EDEKA supermarkets in Germany. Another Singaporean brand, Growthwell Foods’ HAPPIEE! (which mostly focuses on seafood alternatives) arrived …

©Impossible Foods

Ernst & Young Study Defies Plant-Based Market Decline, Anticipates Global Growth to Soar from $16.5 to $139 Billion by 2035

September 21, 2023

A recent study conducted by Ernst & Young projects substantial, global growth in plant-based protein sales by 2035. According to the report, global plant-based meat sales are anticipated to soar from $16.5 billion in 2021 to $139.4 billion by 2035, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.5 percent. Funded by Protein Industries Canada, the study leverages data from the Food and Agriculture Organization, Good Food Institute, and other third-party sources to examine factors impacting the plant-based protein market, including increased price sensitivity, tight labor markets, higher preference for healthy foods and rapid growth in emerging markets. Despite the short-term economic challenges, Bill Greuel, CEO of Protein Industries Canada, remains optimistic about the long-term prospects of the plant-based meat sector. He comments, “It’s been challenging …

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Ernst & Young

Protein Industries Canada

German Consumers Are Increasingly Plant-Based for Environment, Biodiversity and Health

September 25, 2023September 20, 2023

A recent BVLH survey on plant-based nutrition makes clear consumer expectations regarding product range design and customer communication. More and more German consumers are becoming aware that the way they eat can have an impact on their environment, biodiversity, and their health. With this in mind, they increasingly prefer plant-based foods. According to a current representative consumer survey commissioned by the Federal Association of the German Food Retailers (BVLH), 41 percent of those surveyed stated that they were flexitarians, i.e. they only eat meat occasionally. Nine percent are vegetarian and three percent are vegan. The consumer survey on the topic of “plant-based diet” was conducted by Forsa from August 10th to 14th, 2023. A total of 1,026 people aged 18 and over were interviewed using …

Time to Challenge the Price Barrier Concept: Analysis Finds Vegan Diet Saves $500 Per Year

September 6, 2023

A recent analysis conducted by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, published in JAMA Network Open, sheds light on the economic benefits of adopting a low-fat vegan diet. Vegan diets have been central to poorer communities and indigenous peoples around the world for centuries; items such as tofu, seitan, TVP, beans, and tempeh, are highly affordable and more so than animal proteins. Furthermore, a recent Gallup Consumption Habits poll highlighted that the largest population of Americans opting for plant-based diets are those in low-income families. Contrary to the widely-held notion that vegan diets are more expensive, and the subsequently perceived obstacle of a price barrier cited by a majority of non-vegans, the new PCRM paper found that those living a plant-based lifestyle can save 16% …

©Vivera

Vivera: Fall in Alt Meat Sales Caused by Cost of Living, Not Declining Consumer Interest

September 5, 2023September 5, 2023

Dutch brand Vivera has commented that economic conditions such as inflation and the rising cost of living are to blame for the dip in alt meat sales, countering media claims that consumers are losing interest in the sector. Speaking to Dutch publication Tubantia, Vivera points out that while alt meat sales have fallen by 1.9% in the Netherlands this year, conventional meat sales are down even more at 5.5%. Meanwhile, fish sales have fallen by a huge 13%. Consequently, the decline can be attributed to consumers reducing their spending on more costly items. “Everything has become more expensive, including in supermarkets. You see people cutting back on their groceries and buying less food,” said Vivera Marketing Director Karin Lowik. Furthermore, Vivera is still seeing double-digit …

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Vivera

Nestlé Announces New Shelf-Stable Line in Chile After Registering 333 Plant-Based Patent Applications

August 31, 2023

Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverage company, is expanding its plant-based portfolio with the launch of a range of shelf-stable plant-based meat products for the Chilean market. These new items, launched under the brand name Maggi Veg, are certified vegan and include the company’s first shelf-stable plant-based mince meat made from soy. The launch is part of Nestlé’s efforts to expand its plant-based offerings and give consumers more options for affordable alternatives to meat. The new product line bulks out the company’s plant-based portfolio, which features plant-based eggs, chocolate, and plant-based toddler milk. “We continue launching plant-based products in many regions of the world to offer people tasty, nutritious alternatives to meat that they can enjoy with family and friends,” said Torsten Pohl, Global …

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Nestlé

Navigating Turbulence: 8 Plant-Based Brands Riding the Crest, Not Weathering the Storm

August 30, 2023

While some brands are struggling in the current economic climate (both plant-based and conventional), many are not just surviving but thriving, expanding into new markets and raising large sums of funding. Here, we take a look at some of the biggest industry success stories of 2023. Konscious Foods Canada’s Konscious Foods raised $26 million in seed funding at the beginning of this month, with the aim of making its plant-based seafood more widely accessible. The company now plans to launch at over 4,500 more stores across North America by the end of the year, while also expanding into more food service locations. The seafood alternatives are already available at all Whole Foods locations US-wide, and one investor says it expects Konscious Foods to “transform plant-based …

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Source: Unsplash/The Fry Family Food Co.

Alternative Seafood is Making a Sustainable Splash in the Marketplace

August 28, 2023

Seafood is an industry of immense depths – worth more than US$257 billion and growing year-on-year. To put this swell into perspective, global fish consumption has increased by about 30% since 1998, but scientists project it will increase by a further 80% by 2050. Experts also predict that the world’s oceans won’t be able to keep up with this demand, with over 90% of fish stocks considered either over-fished or exploited close to the point of unsustainability. Not only does this threaten global food security and economic stability (for people who have built livelihoods around seafood), but it also spells ethical, ecological, and climate disasters. What to do? Fortunately, there is a tasty, sustainable, profitable, and forward-thinking solution available: alternative seafood made from plants, cultivated …

Organisations and brands:

ProVeg

©Pizza Pilgrims

UK: Plant-Based Consumers Prioritise Value When Eating Out Amid Cost of Living Crisis

August 28, 2023

According to the new Eating and Drinking Out report by Lumina Intelligence, plant-based consumers in the UK are prioritising affordability when dining out, as the cost of living crisis continues to limit spending power. Vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian consumers are increasingly opting for value options, leading to a drop in the sales of more costly branded meat alternatives. This is true even among more affluent consumers. However, plant-based meat burgers remain more lucrative than vegetable-based ones, and make up 62% of the meat-free burgers available on menus. Regular restaurants offer the greatest number of plant-based dishes, while QSRs sell the most meat alternatives due to the popularity of options such as burgers. The number of meatless dishes available at pubs and bars is said to …

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Lumina Intelligence

Gallup Poll Reveals Surprising Insights into Demographics of US Vegans

August 24, 2023August 24, 2023

The American diet is notoriously meat-heavy, but with US plant-based food sales hitting $8 billion last year, clearly the demand is there. Veganism and vegetarianism are making their presence felt, though not in the ways you might expect. While the perceived cost of going vegan remains one of the main barriers to embracing the lifestyle, the data shows that the majority of vegans in the US are those with the lowest incomes. Gallup’s Consumption Habits poll conducted in July of this year provides insightful data on the prevalence of vegetarian and vegan diets in the country. According to the poll, 4% of Americans identify as vegetarian, while 1% follow a vegan diet. Decoding the trend data These figures are consistent with previous measurements conducted by …

Resilience in the UK: Brands Remaining Committed to the Plant-Based Category

August 24, 2023

Several alt protein brands have said they are still committed to the plant-based category in the UK in spite of challenging market conditions. Discussing its first-half results, Swiss food group Orior — owner of the plant-based Happy Vegi Butcher brand — said that while sales in Switzerland had remained stable, those in the UK were “inadequate, with only minimal signs of recovery”. Despite this, the company insisted it was “fully convinced of the future viability and growth potential” of the plant-based category, seeing the current situation as a “temporary bear market”. Orior said that the increasing adoption of flexitarian diets provided assurance that the plant-based market would see further growth. This sentiment has been echoed by Dutch dairy giant FrieslandCampina, which is about to launch …

Organisations and brands:

FrieslandCampina

Orior

VFC

Latest News From Australia: New Vegan Supermarket & Alt Dairy Developments

August 23, 2023

As plant-based diets continue to grow in popularity in Australia, we take a look at the latest vegan and alt protein news from the country. New vegan supermarket A vegan supermarket called Greens has just opened its doors in the Sydney suburb of Newtown. It is said to be the city’s first fully plant-based store, and the largest in the country. The retailer stocks products that are usually difficult to find in Australia, such as vegan cheeses from Italy, no-salmon sashimi made by Netherlands-based Vegan Zeastar, and egg alternatives from New York’s Simply Eggless. A range of pantry staples, fresh produce, bakery products, and confectionery is also available. Additionally, there is an on-site canteen serving sandwiches, bowls, and more. The canteen operates on a zero-food-waste …

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Signs of S-Curve Adoption in the Alt-Protein Sector

August 23, 2023August 23, 2023

The way we produce and enjoy food is undergoing a significant transformation, in large part due to plant-based innovation and alternative proteins. Plant-based alternatives are predicted to become more cost-competitive with meat and dairy options around 2025-2027, leading to a major ‘tipping point’ in consumer adoption by 2030-2035. These predictions come both from the work and research of industry experts, like Catherine Tubb of Synthesis Capital, and from companies like Beyond Meat, who are setting goals to underprice beef by 2024. VegTech Invest explains how this trend is set to make a big impact based on the concept of the ‘S-Curve’ adoption model, which when applied in this context describes the gradual but powerful uptake of plant-based innovation and alt-proteins. The driving force behind this …

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VegTech Invest

The Vegetarian Butcher Vegan Bacon NoBacon 2.0

Image courtesy of Unilever

Global Plant-Based Meat Market to Reach $14.27Bn by 2030, Seeing “Remarkable” Growth

August 11, 2023

According to a report by Verified Market Research, the global plant-based meat market will be worth $14.27 billion by 2030, up from $4.62 billion in 2021. This represents a CAGR of 13.34%. Demand for sustainable alternatives to animal meat is believed to be the biggest market driver, fueling “remarkable” growth in recent years. Increased awareness of the health benefits of plant-based foods is also a contributor; meat alternatives are typically lower in saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories than conventional meat. However, there are some challenges facing the market, such as the higher cost of plant-based meat compared to animal meat. This is particularly significant in price-sensitive markets such as China, India, and South Africa. Encouragingly, many companies are already said to be working on improving …

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Verified Market Research

Egg Alternatives Gaining Traction in Japan as Poultry Egg Prices Continue to Rise

August 10, 2023August 10, 2023

A recent article published by Japan News describes the increase in popularity of egg substitutes in the country, citing the rising cost of poultry eggs as the primary driver. “A survey conducted in May by Teikoku Databank Ltd. found that 29 of the 100 major restaurant operators had withdrawn egg-based menu items […] The trend of rising egg prices may continue for a prolonged period, so it’s crucial for restaurant operators to develop alternative menus,” state the authors. Clearly this situation represents a huge opportunity for producers of more sustainable, animal-free alternatives in Japan. There are a few producers currently on the Japanese market: Kewpie released HOBOTAMA, a soy-based egg launched in 2021 for use in the Horeca channel; 2foods’ Ever Egg was introduced in …

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2foods

Germany Witnesses a Striking 2.2 Million Drop in Pig Slaughter During the Initial Half of 2023

August 9, 2023August 9, 2023

According to preliminary results, commercial slaughterhouses in Germany produced almost 3.3 million tons of meat in the first half of 2023. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), this was 5.9% less than in the same period of the previous year. Notably, 9.4% less pork was produced than in the first half of 2022. The news comes as the latest in a series of developments demonstrating the increase in plant-based and the decrease of conventional meat in the country, whose population is around 83 million. As we reported this May, in 2022, German companies produced 6.5% more meat alternatives compared to the previous year, and production increased by an impressive 72.7% compared to 2019. Aside from declining meat consumption, it was also revealed this …

Alt Protein Market to Be Worth $62.65Bn by 2030, Growing With 16% CAGR

August 2, 2023August 2, 2023

According to a report by SNS Insider, the alt protein market is expected to grow with a significant CAGR of 16% through to 2030, with its valuation surging from $19.11 billion to $62.65 billion. A key driver will be increased health awareness, as consumers become more aware of the link between meat consumption and chronic illnesses such as heart disease. Plant-based proteins are also typically lower in saturated fats, cholesterol, and calories than animal proteins. The market is said to be experiencing a “paradigm shift”, with plant-based products increasingly dominating the food industry. Consumers are demanding more sustainable products, and the plant-based sector is seeing an increase in technological advancements and investments. Further innovation, product development, and availability of plant-based options will continue to drive …

Global Plant-Based Egg Market to Grow at 20% CAGR, Reaching $9Bn by 2030

July 28, 2023

A report by Data Bridge Market Research has predicted that the value of the plant-based egg market will grow from $1.99 billion in 2022 to $9.02 billion in 2030, representing a significant CAGR of 20.78%. The rise of veganism worldwide and increased awareness of the environmental impact of animal agriculture will be the main market drivers. Technological advancements will also provide a boost, helping to improve and scale up products. However, the limited availability of plant-based eggs in many areas, along with their higher cost compared to conventional eggs, will restrain the market. North America currently dominates the plant-based egg market, due to product innovation, rising health consciousness, and significant investments. The Asia Pacific region is expected to have the highest growth rate over the …

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Data Bridge Market Research

Image courtesy ProVeg International

Vegan Dog Food Market Set to Almost Double to $26Bn, With India Poised for “Remarkable Growth”

July 26, 2023July 26, 2023

In 2023, the vegan dog food market was estimated to be worth US$ 13.58 billion. The market is anticipated to register a CAGR of 7% from 2023 to 2033, reaching a value of US$ 26.35 billion, whereas between 2018 and 2022 it expanded at a CAGR of 2.6%. On the other hand, the conventional, animal-meat based dog food market has a current value of $68.27 billion and is set to expand with a CAGR of 4.35% to 2033, according to a FMI market report. In 2023, North America emerged as the dominant player in the vegan dog food market sales, while the organic vegan dog food sector is expected to register a 7.8% annual growth rate. Key global players Wild Earth (USA): One of the …

Australia's Vegan Food Hub is raising funds to expand its business across Australia

Australian Alt Protein Industry Has Grown Tenfold, But Bottlenecks Must Be Addressed

July 25, 2023July 24, 2023

According to non-profit organisation Food Frontier, the alt protein industry in Australia and New Zealand has grown tenfold in the past few years, but the speed of growth has led to bottlenecks in supply chains. The plant-based meat market in the region is expected to generate almost $3 billion in domestic consumer sales by 2030, with 169,000 tonnes of end product manufactured over this period. It comes after the number of producers increased from just four in 2018 to over 20 this year. However, there are currently bottlenecks in the form of infrastructure capacity, a shortage of skilled workers, and a limited local supply of crops and other ingredients. This could provide an opportunity for farmers, who could benefit from producing the pulses and legumes …

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Food Frontier

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information for decision-makers