Bloomberg: Plant-based foods expected to grow 450% by 2030

Bloomberg Intelligence is forecasting an evolution in consumer habits that will lead to a 450% leap in plant-based sales to reach $162 billion by 2030, up from $29.4 billion in 2020. Plant-based meat is expected to see particular growth from $4.2 billion last year to $74 billion in the next ten years.

“Food-related consumer habits often come and go as fads, but plant-based alternatives are here to stay – and grow,” Jennifer Bartashus, a senior consumer staples analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence said in a statement.

Due to population growth putting a strain on traditional agricultural resources as well as growing concerns surrounding sustainability, plant-based options have been expanding in the marketplace. The result is that there are now a plethora of choices in both retail and foodservice, which has contributed to these alternatives becoming a long-term option, according to the report.

A large part of the credit for the popularization of these vegan alternatives goes to plant-based manufacturing giants, including Impossible Foods, Oatly, and Beyond Meat. These corporations have developed an international reach that includes partnerships with restaurant chains such as Starbucks, Burger King and Taco Bell that have popularized and increased accessibility for these options.

As these alternatives become ingrained in the popular consciousness, Bloomberg Intelligence anticipates that meat alternatives will comprise 5% of the global protein market within the next decade while dairy alternatives will achieve a 10% of the total dairy market.

In the next 12 months though, Bloomberg said that faux-chicken is particularly primed for growth. Indeed, chicken meat substitutes have proliferated in recent months with both Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods launching chicken tender products and R&D centers at Quorn and Unilever focusing on replicating poultry meat.

However, the consumption of plant-based products is not evenly distributed globally. According to the report, the Asia-Pacific region is particularly vulnerable to a future where food supply will be limited, and the region is already forecast to dominate the plant-based protein market reaching $64.8 billion by 2030, up from $13.5 billion in 2020. Comparatively, Bloomberg Intelligence said Europe and North America will see roughly $40 billion in plant-based sales, with Africa, the Middle East and Latin America all seeing between $8-9 billion each.

This evolution in dietary preferences is certainly notable, but it still pales in comparison to the growth forecast for animal protein products, which BI said is poised to reach $1.2 trillion by 2030.

Dive into the research here