Precentage of Households Vs. Companies Purchasing Beef

As the only U.S. trade association representing the plant-based foods industry, the Plant Based Foods Association is committed to conducting in-depth research to better understand how the growth of plant-based foods is transforming the marketplace.

Our most recent data set, analyzed and categorized by the Plant Based Foods Association and The Good Food Institute, from SPINS data, shows that U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods continue to increase, growing 6.2% in 2022 over a record year of growth in 2022 and bringing the total plant-based market value to an all-time high of $7.4 billion.

The growth of the plant-based category is particularly significant in the face of ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic and disruptions in the supply network. The resilience of plant-based foods illustrates strong consumer interest in foods that align with their values, meeting expectations for sustainability and social justice, and speaks to the nimble nature of plant-based food companies that navigated supply challenges and displayed unwavering commitment to creating innovative, delicious food for all occasions.

Looking at retail sales data from 2021, in conjunction with four-year trends, emphasizes the staying power of this cutting-edge, rapidly-growing industry. With ever-increasing plant-based meat, dairy, and egg options available to more and more consumers on retail shelves and online, and the permanence of the ongoing plant-based market shift, comes major opportunities to diversify our food system and build a secure, sustainable future.

Plant Based Meat

After record growth in years prior, 2021 plant-based meat dollar sales remained steady and achieved a repeat year of $1.4 billion in sales. In the past three years, plant-based meat sales have skyrocketed, growing by 74%.

The unit comparison is even more striking: While conventional meat unit sales have grown 9% in the past three years, plant-based meat unit sales have outpaced that by more than six times, growing 51% during the same period . In 2021, plant-based meat's share was 2.7% of retail packaged meat dollar sales, or 1.4% of the total meat category (including random weight meat), and plant-based meat's share of meat in the natural channel is now 14%.

Consumer demand rose last year: 19% of households purchased plant-based meat in 2021—up from 18% in 2020—and on top of that, an impressive 64% of those buyers purchased it multiple times throughout the year.

Category Innovation

Plant-based burgers continue to lead the plant-based meat category as the top-selling product type. At the same time, the industry is responding to consumer desire for more variety within the meat category. The fastest-growing plant-based meat product types in 2022 were plant-based meatballs, chicken nuggets, tenders, and cutlets, and deli slices. In fact, plant-based chicken was a growth leader in 2022 as more products that match the taste, texture, and appearance of animal-based chicken hit retail shelves.

Foodservice is also experiencing growth according to Technomic, with one-third of Millennial and Gen Z restaurant diners are seeking out vegetarian/vegan entrées as a first choice on menus, and 27% of older adults are also doing so . Plant-based meats are featured in nearly every major chain from plant-based burgers in Burger King and McDonald's to plant-based pepperoni at Little Caesars and Pizza Hut, plant-based chorizo at Chipotle, plant-based fried chicken at KFC and Panda Express, and many more.

There remains a significant ongoing opportunity for plant-based seafood, which grew 14% to $14 million but accounts for just 1% of the plant-based meat market, compared to conventional seafood composing a fifth of total meat and seafood sales.

In the past few years, the food industry has seen multiple supply chain disruptions and broad volatility. Notably, after an overstimulated 2020, the unit sales of almost every single animal-based category experienced negative growth in 2021, as did a couple of select plant-based categories to a lesser extent. Conventional meat dollar sales increased three times faster than its unit sales over the past three years—demonstrating significant inflation—indicating that apparent growth is driven by higher unit prices. And IRI's inflation index shows that in March 2022, U.S. retail conventional meat price per unit was up 13% compared to March 2021, while plant-based meat price per unit was down 2%. With the rapid scale-up of the plant-based industry, plant-based products may soon be able to compete with animal products on price, further stimulating consumer demand.

 Key Insights on Plant-Based Meat

• Importance of price: Cost remains one the biggest considerations for consumers. With high inflation rates, unit sales of plant-based meat were slightly down and animal-based meat were down by a significant percent. As the 2022 Power of Meat report from the Food Industry Association (FMI) indicates, high prices of animal-based meats led consumers to shop for meat less frequently and prioritize purchasing on promotion.
• Diversification of products: While plant-based burgers are still a consumer favorite, the plant-based meat category is responding to consumer demand for more variety and innovation. Plant-based meatballs grew by 12% in 2021, followed by plant-based chicken varieties like nuggets, tenders, and cutlets, which grew by 9%— doubling in size in the past three years —and deli slices, which grew by 8%. This illustrates consumer desire to have options for a variety of meal occasions and when compared to the conventional meat category, there is a $16 billion opportunity in plant-based meats alone. As remaining categories increase in share, this equates to an exponential dollar growth opportunity.
• Consumers expect better: The continued growth of plant-based meats shines a spotlight on the fact that consumers are looking for foods that are better for people, planet, and animals. News headlines underscoring the poor treatment of workers in industrial animal agricultural processing facilities are registering with consumers and an increased focus on social responsibility is gaining traction. Plant-based foods are uniquely positioned to meet these values-aligned desires: More consumers are trying plant-based meats and becoming repeat buyers. This trend is particularly important for Millennial and Gen Z consumers, who now compose 47% of the population and will continue to grow in their spending power.
• Integrating merchandising shows significant benefits: Making plant-based meats easy for all consumers to find in retail stores is a top area for growth in this category. PBFA research found that when plant-based meats are merchandised alongside their conventional counterparts, sales increased 23% and consumers were impressed by the variety of options. These findings are also important to consider for e-commerce merchandising as we move into an omnichannel marketplace where shoppers are purchasing more foods online with sales increasing 47% in 2021. The industry is building out an ecommerce infrastructure at breakneck speed to meet consumer demand and making it easier to find plant-based foods online is a key focus area for PBFA.

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Source: https://www.plantbasedfoods.org/2021-u-s-retail-sales-data-for-the-plant-based-foods-industry/