Meat substitute market is growing rapidly in Israel

The MEAT substitute market is attracting more and more consumers in Israel: vegetarians, vegans, flexitarians, koshers and healthy lifestyles.

According to various sources, Israel is characterized by a higher consumption of meat substitutes compared to other countries in the world. Today, there are almost no known meat products for which vegetable substitutes have not been invented.

The meat substitute market in Israel is already over NIS 330 million a year and growing. Despite this growth, there is no decline in demand for animal products. This confirms the fact that there are many consumers who eat meat substitutes not for reasons of ideology and animal protection, but simply because such food seems to them tasty, or they consider it more useful.

The two leading companies in this area are Osem, which produces meat substitutes under the Tivol brand, which accounts for more than 50 percent of sales in Israel, and Zoglovek, which has a market share of about 30 percent.

Last year, the American company BEYOND MEAT entered the Israeli market, whose products quickly gained popularity and already captured 15 percent of the market.

The competition forced Tivol to develop a line of new products, and Zoglovec also said it would release products that would compete with Beyond Meat.

Meanwhile, Neto launched chef Moshe Segev-branded products, and Marina, a mushroom grower and marketer, began making meat substitutes based on mushrooms and other vegetables.