According to a recent study, the plant-based meat market will be worth a whopping $8.3 billion by the year 2025.
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Veganism is on the rise, that much is undeniable. But the rate the plant-based meat market is growing is exponential.
Within the next five years, it is estimated that the current market value of $4.3 billion will almost double, to be worth around $8.3 billion.
According to MarketsandMarkets, this projected growth is due to rising awareness about the health benefits of a plant-based diet, growing flexitarian populations, and significant investments.
Soy is still on top
The study showed that soy accounted for the largest share in the plant-based meat market out of all protein sources analysed.
This is contrary to the idea that vegan meat alternatives had moved on from soy due to its allergenic properties. Many new vegan alternatives are using more innovative proteins such as pea and oat.
It seems that old-school vegan products aren’t losing their popularity any time soon.
Rising demand for plant-based chicken
Based on the type of plant-based meat, chicken came out as the highest in demand. Various kinds of strips, nuggets and burgers were found to contain vegan chicken as their major ingredient.
This may come as no surprise, after the overwhelming response to the KFC Imposter Burger when it was launched last year, featuring a vegan Quorn chicken fillet.
In fact, Quorn was highlighted as one of the prominent key players in the growth of plant-based meat, in addition to The Vegetarian Butcher, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.
America is growing at the fastest rate
The report also indicated that North America was the fastest-growing region in the global plant-based meat market.
While meat plays a hugely prominent role in the Standard American Diet, consumers are increasingly shifting towards plant-based alternatives due to the health risks associated with red meat.
Overall, it seems that countries which are gradually adopting a flexitarian lifestyle are undeniably contributing to the incredible growth we are seeing.
So, vegan meat is set to be bigger than we ever could have imagined.
But is the rise of this vegan junk food simply delicious, or is it dangerous for our health?
