Industry Insights: Top Trends and Demand Spaces in Plant-Based Meat and Seafood Alternatives?

This report is part of a series on the top trends and key demand spaces for consumers sectors to focus on in 2024. This report explains how and why these trends are happening using the analyst's TrendSights and demand space analytical frameworks. The report identifies the consumer sentiment, market development, innovation landscape, the issues facing plant-based meat and seafood, and brand actions happening within each trend.

The plant-based market finds itself at a crossroads in 2024 as it faces consolidation and backlash from consumers who no longer perceive the category to be healthy or sustainable. However, there are opportunities to consider investing in on a product by product basis in terms of food technology innovations.

Scope

• Consumers are struggling to see value for money in plant-based compared with real meat and seafood although country macro situations affect spending differently.
• Clean label reformulation is happening in a number of ways including a focus on natural ingredient replacements, advanced fermentation processes, and ambient formats.
• Beyond delivering cleaner labels brands are considering how advanced processes such as 3D printing, cell culturing, and precision fermentation can optimize production, sustainability, and sensory attributes although cost and scale challenges remain.
• Outside of these major investments the industry can also consider avenues of opportunity in plant-based snacking, and creative use of retail and foodservice channels.

Reasons to Buy

• Understand the challenges and opportunities for plant-based meat and seafood in order to tap into what is really impacting the industry.
• Gain a broader appreciation of plant-based market by gaining insights from both within and outside of your sector.
• Access valuable strategic take-outs to help direct future decision-making and inform new product development.