Retail sales value of plant-based meat substitutes in Western Europe 2018, by segment

The vegetable/plant-based protein meat substitutes market can roughly be divided in four segments: legume-based products, pea-based products, yam/sweet potato products and other products. The two largest segments are the legume-based products and the pea-based products. In 2018, the retail sales value of pea-based meatballs in Western Europe was nearly 39 million euros.
Compared to other meat substitutes that are grain-based, soy-based or are made with algae or fungi, vegetable/plant-based products are the smallest category. Soy-based and grain-based alternatives both generated more than twice the retail sales value of plant-based products.

Consumer attitudes towards plant-based products

In the United States, consumers who prefer plant-based products over meat do so overwhelmingly because of the taste. Additionally, 19 percent of respondents in Great Britain think that these products almost tasted as good as meat and improve constantly. However, GB consumers also view plant-based products as too expensive.

Plant-based market

The plant-based market in the U.S. was worth about 4.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. This would translate to a share of over one third of the worldwide market in 2019. In the U.S. the biggest sales drivers were milk alternatives, followed by other plant-based dairy alternatives.