Meal Replacement Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the meal replacement market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global meal replacement market reached a value of nearly $16.75 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.6% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $16.75 billion in 2023 to $24.87 billion in 2028 at a rate of 8.2%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.7% from 2028 and reach $39.55 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted the growing health consciousness among consumers, rapid urbanization, growing prevalence of obesity and diabetes and a rise in the size of the vegetarian and vegan populations. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were limited customization options in meal replacement products and a lack of awareness or misunderstanding about meal replacement products.

Going forward, the increasing prevalence of digestive diseases, rise of e-commerce platforms delivering meal replacement products, rise in social media influencers promoting wellness, fitness and health and the rising consumption of convenience foods will drive the market. Factors that could hinder the growth of the meal replacement market in the future include a lack of taste and texture compared to traditional meals and stringent regulations related to labeling, health claims and ingredients.

The meal replacement market is segmented by product into powdered products, edible bars, ready-to-drink and other products. The powdered products market was the largest segment of the meal replacement market segmented by product, accounting for 51.2% or $8.58 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the ready-to-drink segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the meal replacement market segmented by product, at a CAGR of 9.1% during 2023-2028.

The meal replacement market is segmented by application into weight gain, weight loss, physical fitness, wound healing and other applications. The weight loss market was the largest segment of the meal replacement market segmented by application, accounting for 45% or $7.54 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the physical fitness segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the meal replacement market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 8.9% during 2023-2028.

The meal replacement market is segmented by distribution channel into hypermarkets and supermarkets, convenience stores, online and other distribution channels. The hypermarkets and supermarkets market was the largest segment of the meal replacement market segmented by distribution channel, accounting for 41% or $6.87 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the online segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the meal replacement market segmented by distribution channel, at a CAGR of 10% during 2023-2028.

North America was the largest region in the meal replacement market, accounting for 41% or $6.86 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by Western Europe, Asia-Pacific and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the meal replacement market will be Asia-Pacific and North America, where growth will be at CAGRs of 9.6% and 8.4% respectively. These will be followed by Western Europe and Eastern Europe, where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 8.1% and 7.4% respectively.

The global meal replacement market is concentrated, with a small number of players dominating the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 44.3% of the total market in 2022. Abbott Laboratories was the largest competitor with a 14.3% share of the market, followed by Unilever Group with 11.6%, Herbalife Nutrition Ltd with 6.6%, General Mills, Inc with 4.7%, Kellogg Co. with 2.4%, Glanbia PLC with 1.7%, Simply Good Foods Co, with 1.1%, Huel Limited with 0.8%, Nestle SA with 0.6% and Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods, Inc. with 0.3%.

The top opportunities in the meal replacement market segmented by product will arise in the powdered products segment, which will gain $4.11 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the meal replacement market segmented by application will arise in the weight loss segment, which will gain $3.66 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the meal replacement market segmented by distribution channel will arise in the hypermarkets and supermarkets segment, which will gain $3.55 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The meal replacement market size will gain the most in the USA at $2.72 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the meal replacement market include focus on launch of new products to meet unique nutritional needs through specialized formulations, introduction of plant-based meal replacement shakes to address health conscious consumer demands, development of nutritional supplements to support the health of aging adults, growing focus on meal replacement beverages to meet consumer demand for functional nutrition and dietary customization and strategic partnerships and collaborations among market players to drive innovation in the market.

Player-adopted strategies in the meal replacement market include focus on strengthening business capabilities through the launch of new products and expanding business operations through strategic partnerships.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the meal replacement companies to focus on innovative product launches, focus on diversifying with plant-based offerings, focus on specialized nutritional supplements for aging adults, focus on innovating with immunity-boosting meal replacement beverages, focus on powdered products and ready-to-drink segments for market growth, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic collaborations, focus on online and hypermarkets/supermarkets distribution channels, provide competitively priced offerings, continue to use B2B promotions, focus on integrated promotional strategies for market visibility, focus on physical fitness and weight loss segments, focus on customer-centric approach for targeted end-user engagement and target vegan populations.