Last year plant-based food sales grew three times faster than total sales, with market value at an all-time high of USD7.4bn. One of the fastest growing product categories, plant-based foods is expected to reach USD162bn in the next decade.
According to a press release, eaters are drawn to plant-based foods for reasons such as health, climate, and affordability. SPINS reports about 52% of overall plant-based sales are Non-GMO Project Verified. At the same time, new research shows explosive growth of Verified products in the plant-based space – a bellwether signaling consumer demand is headed toward non-GMO plant-based options.
Data show that consumers are looking for the Butterfly. In a new case study of growth of sales from 2019-2021, SPINS data found that Non-GMO Project Verified frozen plant-based meat alternatives rose +71.7%, as opposed to only +10.4% for unlabeled products in the same category.
Many companies without the Butterfly mark rely on traditional GMOs such as soybeans and corn. Moreover, significant investment is being made in new GMOs using synthetic biology (synbio), to create a range of ingredients for plant-based products, including non-animal dairy proteins, fats, and blood-like compounds such as “heme.” The new products made with GMOs are being marketed directly to natural shoppers and retailers, using unfamiliar terms such as “precision fermentation,” “animal free,” and “nature identical.” These synthetic products are entering the market largely unregulated and unlabeled, compromising the consumer’s right to know what’s in their food.
“The Non-GMO Project supports appropriate innovation and technology for creating new, wholesome vegan and vegetarian options, but we are seeing synthetic ingredients infiltrating the plant-based space,” cautions Megan Westgate, founder and executive director of the Non-GMO Project, North America’s most relied-upon non-GMO authority. “Let’s keep plant-based foods naturally non-GMO. And if they do contain GMOs, at least label them clearly, so people can choose to avoid them.”