Total sales now top $3.7 billion as sales grew 17% in the past 12 months.

September 19, 2018

2 Min Read
Plant-based food sales on the rise
Good Food Institute

U.S. retail sales of plant-based food sales grew 17% in the past 12 months, with total sales now topping $3.7 billion, according to recent data released by The Good Food Institute (GFI). Comparatively, total U.S. retail food sales grew just 2% during the same time period.

Plant-based meat sales alone have increased 23% in the past year, with the U.S. retail market now worth $684 million. The top five plant-based meat brands by total sales are Morningstar Farms, Gardein, Lightlife, Beyond Meat and Boca. The fastest-growing plant-based meat brand is Beyond Meat, with sales up 70%, followed by Field Roast (up 68%), Gardein (up 51%), Dr. Praeger’s (up 44%) and Quorn (up 31%).

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The data reveal a nationwide shift, with sales of plant-based meat growing by double digits across all nine U.S. census regions, particularly in the country’s center. Refrigerated plant-based meat sales are growing fastest in the Mountain region, while frozen plant-based meat sales are growing fastest in the West South Central region, which includes Texas.

“As consumers look to decrease their meat consumption, more and more people are choosing plant-based meats,” noted Alison Rabschnuk, GFI director of corporate engagement. “In fact, 12% of households across the U.S. now purchase plant-based meat. That’s an estimated 14.7 million households, which is a significant increase from last year, and I expect we’ll see that trend continue.”

Related:Plant-based food sales doubled in last year

Plant-based milk is now sold in 89% of all retail outlets and commands 13% of total retail milk sales nationally. Following in the footsteps of the now nearly ubiquitous plant-based milk category, the fastest-growing plant-based products are “other dairy alternatives,” including creamers, sales of which are up 62%, followed by yogurt (up 54%), cheese (up 41%) and ice cream (up 40%).

“The plant-based meat category today is reminiscent of the plant-based milk category about 10 years ago, when growth began to really take off,” Caroline Bushnell, GFI senior marketing manager, said. ”As it follows that trajectory, reaching share of market parity with plant-based milk would make the retail plant-based meat category worth almost $10 billion."

The custom data set represents retail sales of plant-based foods that directly replace animal products, including meat, seafood, eggs and dairy, as well as meals that contain direct animal ingredient replacements. Milk is defined as ready-to-drink liquid milk products and excludes condensed, evaporated and canned milk products. These data were obtained over the 52-week period ending Aug. 11, 2018, from Nielsen’s Expanded All Outlets Combined Channel channel – which includes grocery stores, drug stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, dollar stores and military stores – plus Whole Foods Market.

Related:Dean Foods enters plant-based beverages category with investment

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