New data from leading U.S. plant-based food organizations reveals that the American market for plant-based foods surged 6.2% to a record high of $7.4 billion in 2021. This data has been reported by the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA), The Good Food Institute (GFI) and SPINS. The previous record was broken last year.
Faster Growth in Certain Products
Plant-based food sales grew three times faster than overall food sales for the year. Another trend has been plant=based foods are outpacing their conventional counterparts in sales growth. The leading growth areas are plant-based milk, other plant-based dairy and plant-based meat.
Sales of plant-based milk increased to $2.6 billion for the year while conventional milk sales dipped to a loss of $264 million. Plant-based milk now has 16% share of overall milk sales. The leader in this market is almond milk, which accounts for 59% of sales in the plant-based milk category.
Data shows that three-quarters of plant-based milk consumers buy the product frequently. The growth of plant-based milk sales has influenced the growth of other plant-based dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, ice cream and frozen desserts.
Another hot item is plant-based meat, in which sales have grown 51% the past three years, while conventional meat sales have only increased by 8% during the same period. Within this category, plant-based burgers are dominating sales. Consumers, however, demand more diversity in this category, which includes plant-based chicken tenders and seafood.
Supply Chain Crisis
Part of the reason for sales growth is attributed to inflation and supply chain slowdowns. The supply chain crisis was developing even prior to the pandemic, which made the problem even worse, as many logistics professionals quit their jobs. But while conventional meat prices rose in 2021, plant-based meat price per unit fell by 2%.
Increasing Demand for Plant-Based Food Products
The demand for plant=based food products surged the past few years. In 2022 over 60% of U.S. households (79 million Americans) now shop for these products. That’s 2 million more people than a few years ago. Younger consumers are particularly interested in plant-based food products.
Dil Bole Oberoi
