Nils-Gerrit Wunsch
Research expert covering foods trends in North America, Europe, and the global food system
Veganism and vegetarianism worldwide - statistics & facts
Veganism is still a lifestyle that very few consumers follow. However, forgoing meat and all forms of animal food products is becoming more popular. Signups for Veganuary, a campaign that challenges its participants to only eat vegan for January, have been increasing since 2015 to reach over 700,000 Veganuary participants for the most recent outing of the campaign. Looking around the globe, there are massive differences from country to country in the share of vegans. India is the leading nation by share of vegans. A total of eleven percent of the Indian population are vegans. In even the most developed Western markets, this figure only reaches two to three percent, while in many countries in Europe only around one or two percent of the population is vegan. Vegetarianism shows a similar picture. India leads all other countries with a share of a quarter of Indians following a vegetarian lifestyle.
The global market for vegan and plant-based products
Vegan or plant-based products are not only for those who try to avoid eating meat and animal products: they have a much larger target audience. This is especially true for meat substitutes. Pat Brown, the founder of Impossible Foods, even sees vegetarians as the wrong audience for these kinds of meat replacements, which are specifically designed to imitate meat despite being plant-based. As such, meat substitutes are targeted at meat eaters, making the transition to a plant-based diet much easier for them. The global vegan food market has reached a value of 24.6 billion U.S. dollars and is forecast to grow further in 2024. The global plant-based meat market is estimated to generate 10.2 billion U.S. dollars in revenue.Milk substitutes
Although meat alternatives are all the rage in the media, the less trendy global milk substitutes market is several billions of U.S. dollars larger than the global meat substitute market. In total, the milk substitute market is valued at 23.2 billion U.S. dollars. China and the United States are the leading milk alternatives markets: together they account for over 12.5 billion U.S. dollars of revenue.
