Sales of plant-based meat and milk in the US have broken all records

U.S. retail sales of plant-based meats, milk and other "plant-based substitutes" are up 27 percent in 2020, to $7 billion.

They grew twice as fast as food sales in general. It is believed that the US is a trendsetter in the food industry of the world. And this means that in a few years these trends, one way or another, adjusted for the country, will still affect other markets. 

Investment in this industry has reached $2.1 billion, according to GFI. This speaks to the growing interest in plant-based products. Almond milk is still the most common type of alternative milk, but sales of oatmeal have skyrocketed over the past two years. It is now the second largest subcategory. Consumer interest has moved into other categories as well (yogurts, ready-to-drink drinks and creamers that use oat milk as a base).

Sales of plant-based meat reached $1.4 billion in 2020. Basically, we are talking about chilled "meat" for hamburgers. Since 2018, the segment has grown by 72%. But in recent months, the deli and bacon segment has been growing sharply. While these are small niches in the share of revenue, it means that there is great potential there.

“This wave is driven by several factors, including new product launches and more frequent home cooking,” said Emma Ignashevsky, GFI Project Manager for Corporate Engagement. “Rising demand is fueling a new cycle of innovation, which in turn will further accelerate the transition to such products.

Demand is driven by young, educated and higher-income consumers, analysts say. The main target audience of manufacturers is people aged 35 to 44, with a higher education and an income of more than $8,000 per month. At the same time, prices for such products decrease over time and begin to reach price parity with products of animal origin. So consumers from lower income groups will also increase their purchases of plant-based products.

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