Statistics to Help Navigate the Plant-Based Craze

Statistics to Help Navigate the Plant-Based Craze

Special thank you to Lisa Keefe, editor of Meatingplace, for speaking at the SMA annual convention in July.  I loved her talk on how the meat and food industry can work together to create great sustainable products to feed our futures.

First myth – it is not plant OR meat.  It is plant AND meat. IRI has found that plant-based meat purchases are 4X higher when meat was bought at the same time.

31% of all meat eaters have tried plant-based.  42% of Millennial and 40% of GenX meat eaters have tried plant-based.

According to Pitchbook, total investment in “food tech” start ups reached $7.5 billion in 2018, and by the end of the year there were 27 cell cultured meat companies globally.  All of this means more money for great and innovative products to be developed that help us keep our bodies healthy and the environment clean.  

One of my big questions since this all started:  won’t this trend end up in a niche market like our industry standards Gardenburger and Morningstar?  NO! Because the new products look and taste like meat, consumers aren’t thinking vegetarian – they’re thinking meat!

What does all this mean for meat manufacturers?   Embrace the product mix change! Amp up your social media presence because Gen Z is going to start buying soon and they want convenience with great taste delivered through plant AND meat.  

Contact SPI Group for all of your plant-based meat needs, and for your further processed meat needs.  We have ingredients for the function and innovation to make nitrite free meats, vegetarian meats, child nutrition products and everything clean label.  

Call your account manager to discuss how our products can elevate your plant AND meat strategy today!