Younger Generations Drive the Plant-based Meats Market Forward

Though more plant-based meats are available, fewer consumers are responding favorably to them. Those more likely to eat plant-based alternatives are Millennials and Gen Z-ers, but they’re looking for price parity with traditional proteins.

The plant-based meat market is on the rise.
The plant-based meat market is on the rise.

As more manufacturers look to get into the market for meat replacements, they will need to be mindful of consumer demand. So what is it consumers want?

Consumer are eating plant-based foods about as often as they did last year.Consumer are eating plant-based foods about as often as they did last year.Overall, consumers’ plant-based eating habits have remained stable over the past year. But Gen Z-ers, in particular, are making more of a change than older generations, according to analysts with Revenue Management Solutions (RMS), which has released its annual Restaurant Consumer Report. “They have shifted their habits from plant-based meat trials to periodic consumption,” they report. “The RMS survey found a 7% increase among Gen Z-ers who ate plant-based meat alternatives at least once a week and a 9% increase among those who ate the non-meat options once a month.”

But Gen Z-ers, as a group, have shifted their habits from plant-based meat trials to periodic consumption, with those eating plant-based meats every couple of months rising 9% and eating the alternative meats multiple times a week up 7%, according to the Restaurant Consumer Report. Of those surveyed, 83% were self-proclaimed moderate to frequent restaurant goers—meaning up to five times a week.

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