Landscape of the European plant-based market

The European landscape is changing, as plant-based products such as milk, meat, but also yogurt, sauces, desserts and beverages are becoming increasingly popular. In this context, the report drawn up by the Smart Protein project entitled “Plant-based foods in Europe: How big is the market?”   gives a full view of the plant-based landscape in Europe, reviewing data from 11 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom) over the two-year period 2018-2020.

Overall, the report results indicate that the European plant-based sector grew by 49%, with plant-based milk being the largest segment. In detail, Germany and Spain are the two countries to have experienced the highest sales of plant-based milk, 396M and 318M respectively, followed by Italy, Poland, Romania, France, Denmark and Austria. Among the types of vegetable milk present on the European market, the most popular are soy, almond and oat milk. The latter, in particular, has seen significant growth in several European countries, even exceeding soy milk.

The vegetable meat segment also recorded strong growth in 2018-2020, especially in Austria (82%) and Germany (226%), followed by the Netherlands, the UK, and Belgium. In particular, the Netherlands and the UK are the countries with the highest sales of vegetable meat, 174M and 502M respectively. In these two countries, the most preferred vegetable meat is frozen meat in the UK and veggie burgers and meatballs in the Netherlands.

Although the plant-based cheese sector is currently still in its early stages, these products are in high demand among consumers. Across Europe, the vegetable cheese market is growing, and in the Netherlands in particular, the value of sales has increased by up to 400%, followed by UK and Germany, where the plant-based cheese business has increased 165% and 150%, respectively.

Finally, the vegetable yogurt segment grew particularly strongly in Belgium (497%), while the value of sales in the fish analogue segment increased by 623% in Germany.

What is the plant-based product that consumers would like to see on the shelves most of all?

According to the survey drawn up by the organization Proveg International entitled “European consumer survey on plant-based food”, the products most requested by consumers are vegetable cheeses. This is because there is neither much offer nor much differentiation among products, as it is a segment that is still developing. In fact, the majority of plant-based dairy products in the European market consist mostly of oils and starches, generally with a negative nutritional profile. Other plant-based cheese options include, for example, those based on fermented nuts, which are tastier products but have a higher cost. According to the interview, the most popular plant-based cheese varieties include plant-based cheeses that remind one of Camembert, or aged, grated or creamy cheese, highlighting how cultural differences between European countries remain even in plant-based eating.

In addition to cheese, consumers would also like to see a greater supply of plant-based yogurts, possibly with formulations containing less sugar and artificial ingredients, so that they can be comparable to cow’s yogurts. According to consumers, the existing offer of fish analogues is also still poorly developed and differentiated, especially when compared to meat substitutes.

From this overview of the European situation of the plant-based market, we can say that consumers are increasingly attracted by these products, requiring more and more supply and differentiation. For businesses, this market certainly represents an opportunity to be seized, especially in segments that are still underdeveloped, such as fish and vegetable cheese, where innovation will be able to play a leading role in the development of different products.