Acosta, a global integrated sales and marketing services provider for the consumer goods (CPG) industry, has released its latest research report, Plant-Based Eating: Trend or Fad? The report explores increased consumer interest in purchasing plant-based meat and dairy alternatives. According to research by Acosta, 40% of consumers currently buy plant-based meat and/or dairy and cite health as their primary purchase driver.

Kathy Risch, Senior Vice President of Business Intelligence at Acosta said:

“Consumer focus on healthy living has increased significantly since the onset of Covid-19. The wider discussion on the importance of health and wellness has alerted many consumers to the potential long-term benefits of meat and dairy alternatives , so the sales of plant-based products are on the rise. The Plant-Based Food Association reports that plant-based food sales in the United States will reach $7 billion in 2021 (about 45.5 billion yuan), an increase of 27% over 2019. With consumption As consumer awareness continues to expand, we expect sales in this category to grow steadily over the next decade.”

Acosta’s research provides insights around the growing consumer interest in plant-based products. The following is a summary of the study:

Shopping habits for plant-based products

—40% of consumers surveyed in March 2022 had purchased plant-based meat and/or dairy products in the past six months, with more than half (60%) purchasing plant-based products multiple times a month.

—77% of consumers surveyed buy plant-based food in supermarkets.

—20% of consumers surveyed buy plant-based foods online.

—Consumers typically buy plant-based meat and dairy alternatives to replace beef, pork and conventional milk.

Product loyalty

—64% of plant-based food buyers make these purchases at least a few times a month.

—57% of plant-based food buyers said they intend to eat plant-based alternatives for the rest of their lives.

—Nearly 20% of plant-based food buyers say they follow an entirely plant-based lifestyle.

Hesitant consumer 

—While 50% of plant-based food buyers say it’s important for restaurants to offer plant-based options, only about 20% typically order these plant-based options when dining out.

—Despite the real growing interest and demand, about 33% of U.S. consumers claim to see the plant-based food trend as a fad that will only last a while.

According to a report from the Boston Consulting Group, the global new protein market is expected to reach 290 billion US dollars by 2035, of which plant-based will occupy 69% of the market share, followed by microbial fermentation 22% protein and 9% cell culture protein.