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Chick-News.com Poultry Industry News, Comments and more by Simon M. Shane

Acceptance of Plant-Based Meat Substitutes Falling Sharply

12/06/2022

A recent survey of plant-based meats sold by the Kroger Company demonstrated a sharp decline in demand and a loss of consumers between 2020 and 2021.  Over a single year, new customers decreased from 63 percent to 32 percent. Those abandoning plant-based substitutes increased from 17 percent to 37 percent. Loyal consumers continuing to purchase refrigerated plant-based meat alternatives increased from 13 to 14 percent.  Those reducing purchases represented 15 percent in 2020 compared to 66 percent in 2021.

 

The year 2020 marked the introduction of numerous meat substitute products from diverse producers, given the relatively low bar to market launch and the availability of funding from venture capital investors.  The sharp decline in consumer demand in 2021 suggests that the high levels of acceptance in 2020 was associated with a “curiosity factor”.  Market growth has been restrained by:-

 

  • Differences in organoleptic properties between plant-based meat alternatives and real meat.
  • Differential in price between Plant-based products and real meat.
  • A narrow range of products, essentially sausages and ground meat alternatives               

 

The data derived from the Kroger analysis confirms the low growth rates for plant-based substitutes as reported by Beyond Meat and from the Plant Protein segment of Maple Leaf Foods.  Declining demand reflected in static or decreased sales, and evident high costs of production relative to selling price and more recently, discounting to bolster sales have all combined to increase losses in companies producing alternative meats.


 
Copyright © 2024 Simon M. Shane