We’ve decided to focus this issue of the Frozen Food Dossier on the plant-based segment not because of the novelty element – it’s not the case anymore – but because of the struggles it has faced recently.
As was the case with many other food categories, be it food or non-food, the plant-based one had to suffer due to inflation and rising costs of living.
The reasons behind all those issues are well-known, so let’s focus on the actual dynamic: global retail sales of plant-based meat in 2022 were USD6.1bn and grew from the prior year by both value sales (+8%) and weight sales (+5%), according to Euromonitor, with notable growth in Latin America and Europe in particular.
Meanwhile, plant-based meat sales in US retail in 2022 declined slightly by 1% and unit sales declined 8% compared to the prior year, according to data from the Good Food Institute and the Plant Based Foods Association commissioned from SPINS.
So, are these worrying signs? It doesn’t look so at first glance, as globally we still see growth; but when taking a closer look, we can notice that the demand doesn’t continue to translate into strong sales numbers.
But is there more to it than simply the fact that plant-based, vegan, or free-from products are still sensibly more expensive than your regular ones? The answer, at least for now, appears to be “no”. It’s just a matter of economics: having less money to spend means buying cheaper products, and plant-based is not yet cheap.
So, in this context, what scenarios should the manufacturers use going forward? For now, it seems they’re doing just the right thing: keep innovating and wait for consumers to ride out the storm. The interest is still there, and it is expected that as soon as inflation falls, sales are going to pick up the pace once again, and that is exactly why we chose to cover this topic in detail.
How do you think the plant-based market will fare moving forward? Let me know at bogdan.angheluta@trade.media !