MINTEL GLOBAL NEW PRODUCTS

Plant-Based Proteins

Market Overview

The plant-based meat alternative (PBMA) market hasn’t expanded upon its pandemic-driven bump, signaling that consumers aren’t necessarily buying PBMAs after the initial trial and that PBMAs are an occasional purchase rather than an everyday protein option.

One-third of U.S. consumers (29%) eat PBMAs multiple times per week, compared with the 61% of consumers who eat poultry multiple times per week.

Half (49%) of U.S. consumers say that they don’t eat plant-based protein because of taste/flavor concerns.

Key Issues

Rising inflation hinders PBMA market growth. While meat prices are rapidly rising, consumers prioritize familiarity during periods of economic uncertainty, and many PBMA products are still more expensive than their meat counterparts. Plant-based diets, while trending, remain fairly niche, and meat is a mainstay in consumers’ diets. Consumers view meat as tasty, premium, exciting, and a good source of protein, and meat dishes elicit strong emotional responses from consumers.

While the PBMA category is ripe with innovation, the flurry of new PBMA products may have led to consumer confusion, and many new products may have not lived up to consumers’ taste expectations.

Nearly four in 10 consumers, or 36%, eat plant-based proteins such as a plant-based meat substitute, a plant-based poultry substitute, a plant-based seafood substitute, a plant-based egg substitute or plant-based cheese. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.MINTEL.COM OR CALL 800-932-0400

What Consumers Want, and Why

The development of better-tasting, less expensive PBMAs will make them more appealing to massmarket consumers.

Plant-based diets, especially flexitarianism, will gain prominence as consumers reduce their meat consumption for environmental reasons, and demand for PBMA options will grow as Gen Z consumers age and becomes a larger share of the total U.S. population. Natural plantbased proteins such as legumes have a key opportunity to promote their value and versatility during a time when budgetconscious consumers are interested in cooking healthy, inexpensive meals at home.