Plant-based fare is steadily increasing on restaurant menus. However, only 15% of consumers say that they follow a specific type of diet, such as vegetarian, pescetarian and vegan, according to Technomic’s Consumer Trends Reports, powered by Ignite. If only a minority of consumers are following meatless diets, then why is there continuous growth of plant-based food at restaurants?
One part of that answer may lie in the evolution of flexitarian consumers—those who consume a mostly vegetarian diet, but occasionally eat meat. Half of consumers say they are eating more plant-based fare now than one year ago, and 62% eat meatless meals at least once a week.