Plant-Based Meat Boomed. Here Comes the Bust

Over the past three years, the plant-based meat industry has experienced a major reversal in vibes. Sales boomed in the early months of the pandemic, as slaughterhouse shutdowns disrupted conventional meat supply chains and shoppers started trying out meatless burgers, sausages, and seafood instead. Between 2018 and 2021, total sales of plant-based foods in the US grew from $4.8 billion to $7.4 billion, with much of that growth driven by plant-based meat in particular.

But a new report on sales of vegan meat, dairy, and seafood suggests that enthusiasm for plant-based products might be slowing down. An annual report from the Good Food Institute, an alternative protein nonprofit, found that dollar sales of plant-based meat and seafood in the US fell by 13 percent over the past two years. As prices of meat alternatives have gone up, this masks a much greater drop in unit sales over the same time period—they fell by 26 percent between 2021 and 2023.

One big challenge in the US is the price of plant-based alternatives. In the US, plant-based meats are on average 77 percent more expensive than their animal equivalents, and for cheap meat like chicken, that premium rises to more than 150 percent. Another problem is one that has dogged the industry for years: Shoppers are still finding plant-based products lackluster compared to animal-based alternatives. “Many consumers signaled that products weren’t yet meeting their expectations on taste, texture, and affordability,” wrote the authors of the report.

Although there has been a lot of excitement around meat alternatives, plant-based milk is still by far the biggest seller when it comes to plant-based foods. Dairy milk alternatives like soy, oat, and almond made up nearly 15 percent of total milk sales in the US, while the share of plant-based meat and seafood in their market is around 1 percent. Plant-based milks alone make up nearly a third of the entire plant-based food category in the US, as defined by the Good Food Institute.

If you add together all other adjacent sectors, including plant-based butter, ice cream, yogurt, and cheese, then US sales of plant-based dairy alternatives accounted for nearly $5 billion in 2023. Dollar sales of plant-based milk grew by 9 percent through 2021–23, although unit sales declined by 10 percent over the same period. Total sales in the plant-based sector, according to the Good Food Institute, were $8.1 billion.

Fans of plant-based meat point out that people swapping beef burgers for plant-based patties would significantly reduce the carbon footprints of our diets. Animal proteins are a major source of emissions from food, with beef, lamb, and dairy contributing the highest emissions per kilogram of product. But with plant-based meat sales stalling, it’s unclear whether the industry is having the impact on carbon emissions that many hope for.

Prominent brands within the space are trying to move beyond the morass. Earlier this year, Impossible Foods relaunched its range of alternatives with a new, meatier style deliberately aimed at bringing “meat lovers” into the plant-based fold. In February, Beyond Meat launched the fourth-generation version of its burger and ground beef, calling them “our meatiest, juiciest products yet.”

Rising concerns about so-called ultraprocessed food have also buffeted the plant-based meat industry, given the high amount of processing usually needed to make its products. In response, Beyond’s new burgers have less salt and saturated fat than the previous generation, as well as a “simplified ingredient list,” while many other plant-based companies are emphasizing their “clean-label” credentials.

Whether this plant-based pivot succeeds or not, there is a lot at stake when it comes to the climate impact of our diets. For now, it seems, the plant-based revolution—in the US at least—is getting a slower start than many hoped.

Note: This article have been indexed to our site. We do not claim legitimacy, ownership or copyright of any of the content above. To see the article at original source Click Here

Related Posts
Oldest footprints in North America push back human arrival thumbnail

Oldest footprints in North America push back human arrival

Dozens of awe-inspiring ancient footprints left on the shores of an ice age lake have reignited a long-running debate about when the first people arrived in the Americas.Two years ago, a team of scientists came to the conclusion that human tracks sunk into the mud in White Sands National Park in New Mexico were more
Read More
Infrared filter allows everyday eyeglasses to double as night vision lenses thumbnail

Infrared filter allows everyday eyeglasses to double as night vision lenses

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. Something to look forward to: Night vision goggles have their uses but also many drawbacks, including their weight. A new development eliminates this cost-benefit analysis – in fact, it could revolutionize night vision technologies as we know them. Researchers have created
Read More
Google, Android oyunlarını Windows'a getiriyor! thumbnail

Google, Android oyunlarını Windows’a getiriyor!

Android oyunları emülatörler aracılığıyla PC'de oynanabilirken, şimdi yeni bir gelişme yaşandı. Buna göre Google, Andorid oyunlarını Windows'a getirecek. Bugün Windows'un en son sürümünün yerel Android uygulamaları desteği içerdiği duyuruldu. Şimdi, Google, Windows için bazı Android oyunları yayınladı. Arama Motoru devi ilk olarak Aralık 2021'de Android oyunlarını Windows'a getireceğini açıklamıştı. Şirket, bu oyunları Windows 11'in Android…
Read More
Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle nabídne demo thumbnail

Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle nabídne demo

Invader Studios nám v roce 2019 přineslo svůj vlastní survival horor Daymare: 1998 (recenzi naleznete tady), jehož kořeny se nachází ve fanouškovském remaku Resident Evilu 2, což se poměrně výrazně projevuje jak na samotné hratelnosti, tak i atmosféře. Každopádně tvůrci se po vydání rozhodli, že se vrhnou do tvorby prequelu, jehož název je Daymare: 1994…
Read More
Stopwatch and more: Widget in Pixel Launcher gets 3 new features thumbnail

Stopwatch and more: Widget in Pixel Launcher gets 3 new features

Vermutlich ist es noch ein Testlauf, aber Google erweitert das Widget auf Start- und Sperrbildschirm seiner Pixel-Geräte mit weiteren Informationen. Drei neue Optionen starten gerade international. Google erweitert die Live-Anzeige. Neue Optionen kommen in den Pixel-Launcher. Noch handelt es sich wohl um einen Testlauf. Google macht seine Ankündigungen der letzten Monate langsam wahr und beginnt…
Read More
Index Of News
Total
0
Share