Despite use of plant-based meat or dairy products being highest among those following vegan, vegetarian, or pescatarian diets, it's omnivores and flexitarians who make up the lion's share of consumers who eat these products due to their sheer numbers, reports market research firm Packaged Facts in the report Vegan, Vegetarian, and Flexitarian Consumers.

American consumers are eating more plant-based foods these days, especially adults under age 35 and those actively following a specific diet. This is according to findings published in the new report Vegan, Vegetarian, and Flexitarian Consumers by leading market research firm Packaged Facts.

The Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA), the trade association representing 170 plant-based food companies, and Kroger, the largest grocery retailer in America, found that plant-based meat sales increased by 23% when those items were sold in the meat department.

Part of DSM’s expanding portfolio of solutions for dairy alternatives, these enzymes offer a unique variety of benefits—from increasing the solubility of protein and reducing viscosity to improving mouthfeel and unlocking the natural sweetness of raw materials such as rice, soy and oats.

Some of Innova Market Insights' latest reports show the dairy alternatives category is a key battlefront in a war for consumer spending. Likewise, Innova says new frozen dairy desserts are making headlines.

The surge in 100% plant-based protein products and flexitarian (incorporating animal and plant protein) products is not a trend, it is here to stay.  Plant-based protein is now a multi-billion-dollar industry that is growing at a rate of over 20% per year. 

Plant-based proteins dominated the food and beverage landscape in 2019 — driving new product introductions and overall industry buzz. As food companies look for ways to keep pace with the rapidly expanding and evolving market, ADM has identified key trends that will drive innovation and growth in the plant-based protein space in 2020 and beyond. 

Prepared Foods invites you to see how Hormel Ingredient Solutions can bring the goodness of plant-based ingredients to your applications, with new Fully Cooked Traditional, Italian-Style, Breakfast-Style and Chorizo-Style Crumbles and Uncooked Ground.

More consumers are embracing vegetarian, vegan or flexitarian diets. For plant-based meat analogs, manufacturers are attempting to achieve the appearance of real meat to make the product more appetizing.

Technomic data shows that 24.9% of foodservice operators menu plant-based protein with predictions of 27.7% in two years’ time, by Q3 2021. Datassential research shows 22% of consumers “embrace” a flexitarian diet, consuming meat some of the time, but mixing it up with more plant-based options. Even more, a glance at one menu item, vegetarian burgers, shows demand increasing 29% between 2014 and 2018 (NPD Group).