Retail trends and opportunities for plant-based products

Mainstream consumer segments—traditional meat eaters and flexitarians—are seeking more plant-based products. 98 percent of those who purchase plant-based meat in America also purchase meat products. And 39% of Americans are actively trying to incorporate more plant-based foods into their diets. Meanwhile, 60% of consumers want to reduce their meat consumption. 

For more about target consumer groups—from the demographics of early adopters like flexitarians, Millennials, and Gen Z to mainstream consumers—please see our Consumer Insights.

Retailers who want to capitalize on this fast-growing demand can start by stocking a wide assortment of plant-based meat, egg, and dairy products across categories. Retailers can also consider developing compelling private-label products, prioritized by the size, growth, and household penetration of the respective plant-based and animal-based categories. Furthermore, retailers can give customers a chance to sample professionally prepared plant-based products by adding them to foodservice offerings and prepared foods.

Download our Good Food Retail Report to see our benchmarking of the top 15 U.S. retailers on their product offerings across plant-based meat, egg, and dairy categories, including own-brand products. 

By merchandising plant-based meat, eggs, and dairy alongside their conventional counterparts, retailers can make plant-based options more accessible to the many shoppers who purchase both plant-based and conventional meat. Along with shelf tags, retailers can also leverage “plant-based” aisle signage to communicate store location and product features to customers. Finally, retailers can showcase plant-based categories in endcaps and special displays, especially alongside analogous animal products.

View our guide on how to increase sales with effective merchandising tactics.

Retailers can successfully market plant-based proteins by upping the indulgence factor and featuring tasty plant-based options as alternatives to animal-based options. Retailers can appeal to more customers by using inclusive terms, such as “plant-based” and “plant-protein,” instead of limiting identity-based terms, such as “vegan” or “vegetarian.” Retailers can leverage existing wellness and nutrition programs, as well as seasonal campaigns, and offer an in-store demo program to increase category exposure. New cross-category plant-based themed promotions are another great way to appeal to customers.

Learn more about marketing and promoting plant-based foods.

Large meat and food companies are taking notice of plant-based products’ growing popularity. The top six U.S. meat companies, including Tyson, JBS, Cargill, and Conagra, are all active in plant-based foods. On the investment front, plant-based meat, egg, and dairy companies drew more than $741 million in investments in the first half of 2020 alone—more than in all of 2019.