The International Food Information Council Foundation released a survey on January 30th conducted in late December involving approximately 1,000 interviews conducted on U.S. adults. The study included a variety of ethnic groups representative of the U.S. population.
Half of the respondents indicated that they had eaten a plant-alternative to animal meat during the immediate past. This group included 62 percent under 45 years of age with an equivalent proportion who had attended college. Approximately 21 percent of Hispanics had not tried a vegetable-based meat substitute, based on lack of awareness. In contrast only four percent of African Americans and three percent of Whites reported that they were unaware of plant-based meat substitutes.
Contrary to hype on the internet and mainstream media, taste and price were the most important motivators. Health and environmental concerns did not materially influence food purchasing decisions. Respondents were apparently driven in large measure by curiosity to try plant-based products. Other motivators included trying to eat less meat (27 percent), environmental degradation (27 percent) and welfare (26 percent).
When questioned why half of respondents had not consumed a plant-based meat substitute, 31 percent considered that these products would not taste as good as meat and nine percent were concerned over extreme processing. It is considered significant that 15 percent of respondents did not believe that plant-alternatives were superior from a health perspective to meat and 14 percent considered the plant-based alternatives as too expensive. A significant 11 percent of respondents discounted the claimed environmental benefits.
An interesting distribution within the sample of 1,000 revealed that 60 percent considered themselves as omnivores, six percent vegetarians, five percent vegans and five percent pescatarians. There is no indication of where the survey was conducted but the combination of vegetarians and vegans at 11 percent of the sample population appears extremely high compared to other survey data.
The results of the survey as posted in the February 4th edition of Baking Business confirmed a frequently-noted observation that there is a strong curiosity factor associated with plant-based meat alternatives. Commercial advertising by producers of alternatives, QSRs and web-based publicity emphasizes environmental benefits, animal welfare and health. Enigmatically these apparent attributes did not resonate with the consumers surveyed.
It is highly unlikely that the trajectory in growth and consumption over the past two years will be maintained. It is expected that demand will plateau unless manufacturers can apply economies of scale to reduce price in addition to improving taste and texture. These are evidently motivators to stimulate the purchase plant-based meat alternatives and to establish a loyal clientele.