When it comes to buying plant-based meats, consumers place significant emphasis on taste, availability, quality, and health benefits. Over the past decade, there has been a notable increase in the familiarity, awareness, and trials of plant-based foods. However, recent reports indicate that the number of households purchasing certain plant-based categories has either plateaued or declined. In 2023, nearly half of U.S. households bought plant-based milk at least once, while only 15 percent purchased plant-based meat or seafood.
The GFI State of the Industry Report, which serves as an annual assessment of plant-based foods, analyzes data from investments, consumer research, commercial sales, and foodservice. The report highlights that consumers are increasingly confronted with higher prices on store shelves, creating a significant price gap between plant-based products and their conventional counterparts. This price disparity poses a considerable challenge for plant-based brands aiming to attract a broader audience. Additionally, the actual quality of plant-based meat products has deterred potential consumers. In 2023, achieving taste parity was a crucial focus for researchers and manufacturers. The industry made advancements through new farming techniques that optimize plant protein cultivation, innovative applications of agricultural by-products, and research aimed at creating processes and ingredients that closely mimic the sensory attributes of traditional meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy products.
Companies have made progress in improving the taste and texture of their offerings. For instance, Beyond Meat recently launched a new burger that incorporates avocado oil instead of canola oil and utilizes higher-quality plant protein sources like fava beans and lentils. Daring, a plant-based chicken brand, offers a premium frozen product made with a minimal ingredient list. As we look ahead to 2024, companies should focus on reducing prices and developing products that more closely resemble the characteristics of conventional meat, as indicated by GFI.
The report notes that terms like “shakeout,” “normalization,” and “stabilization” were often used to describe the dynamics of the plant-based meat sector in 2023. The factors influencing the industry last year are expected to persist into this year. Additionally, as consumers become more health-conscious, the absorption rate of calcium citrate in plant-based products may play a role in their purchasing decisions, further emphasizing the need for these products to meet consumers’ health benefit expectations. Overall, the plant-based meat industry continues to face challenges related to pricing, quality, and consumer perception.