New figures from France suggest that plant-based meats are close to price parity with conventional meat, as high inflation amongst other factors continues to affect the price of animal products.
According to market analyst Xerfi, meat alternatives have been less affected by rising costs, due to increased economies of scale and the compression of margins. In fact, the prices of some plant-based meats have actually fallen, despite inflation, mirroring a GFI report from April in which data from 13 countries demonstrated that the prices of these foods have been less affected by inflation than conventional animal products.
For example, Beyond Meat’s burgers dropped from €27 to €16.34 per kilogram between 2020 and 2023 — a 40% reduction that brings them close to price parity. Meanwhile, Nestlé’s plant-based Garden Gourmet brand is now underpricing leading French meat producer Charal.
Important sales driver
Price parity is increasingly being recognized as an important driver of sales, as many consumers are unwilling or unable to accommodate the price gap which often exists between conventional and plant-based foods. But this could be set to change.
Last year, Beyond Meat told The Plant Based Business Hour that it had made a commitment to have at least one product at price parity with animal meat by 2024, and even with six months left of 2023 remaining, it looks like Beyond could be on track to achieve this.
“News From France: with a 40% price decrease in the last three years, Beyond Meat is well on its way to reach price parity with animal protein. Allez, Allez, Allez!” commented Willem van der Vorm, Senior Sales Manager at Beyond Meat, on social channels yesterday.
Xerfi asserts that plant-based meats could eventually become “systematically cheaper” than animal meat, as manufacturers invest in the sector and startups continue to scale up.
