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Plant-based price gap closes in Europe, driving sales

The price of plant-based alternatives is falling, leading to volume growth in some European countries, according to Circana and NielsenIQ sales data.

Data from six European countries – France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK – shows that the price gap between plant-based foods and their animal-based equivalents narrowed in most categories in 2025, leading to sales volume growth as “products began to meet consumer expectations”.

At a glance:

• New data shows the price gap between alternatives and meat and dairy narrowing, leading the volume growth.
• Brands must combine affordability with taste to attract more consumers.
• Europe must diversify its protein mix, with plant-based alternatives and fermentation part of a new protein strategy.

The Good Food Institute (GFI) analysed Circana and NielsenIQ retail sales data and found that sales in France were up 11% to €0.57bn and 7.7% in Spain to €0.55bn. Germany, the largest market, also managed a 3.1% uplift to €1.71bn, while in Italy the category grew 4.5% to €0.67bn. The Netherlands faced a slight decline (falling 4.1% to €0.26bn) while sales in the UK also contracted (down 1.2% to €0.99bn).

“Plant-based options generally remained more expensive per kilo than their animal-based equivalents, but the price gap narrowed last year,” explained Helen Breewood, GFI Europe senior market and consumer insights manager. “In most cases this correlated with growing plant-based sales volumes.”

Sales volumes were up in France (13%), Spain (6.6%), Germany (6.2%) and Italy (5.8%). In the UK and the Netherlands they fell 2.5% and 1.3% respectively.

Taste and affordability: The perfect recipe for plants

The plant-based food and drink category has been under pressure in recent months, due to the cost of living crisis, scrutiny over levels of processing and long ingredients lists, and a lack of innovation.

However, the analysis showed growth being driven by improvements in affordability and taste.

In Italy, for example, plant-based meat and milk recorded sales growth while average prices declined slightly.

In France, plant-based meat prices fell and sales volume increased by almost 17%. In Spain, plant-based milk – the category with the smallest price gap – remains by far the largest and most successful plant-based category, accounting for more than one in 10 litres of milk sold in Spanish retailers.

GFI said these trends indicate that smaller price premiums may be driving growth in some categories and markets.

Innovation and taste can help justify a larger price gap. In the UK, more expensive plant-based milk options, including oat and barista-style varieties, performed well in 2025 – suggesting that taste and product performance were decisive factors for consumers.

Is UPF backlash driving interest in tofu, tempeh, and seitan?

The growing popularity of tofu, tempeh and seitan also points to affordability and “may reflect consumer interest in less processed foods”, said GFI. Sales volumes of these products increased by almost 30% in both Germany and the Netherlands in 2025. In the Netherlands, tofu costs roughly one-third as much as branded plant-based meat products.

Yet lower prices alone do not guarantee success (even during the continued cost of living crisis). Indeed, despite the significant price difference, people across all six countries purchased significantly more plant-based meat than tofu, tempeh and seitan combined, GFI noted, which indicates that “products that replicate the taste, texture or format of conventional meat are reaching a wider audience”.

Other plant-based products struggled in certain countries.

In Spain, sales volume fell by 7% as prices rose, with plant-based meat costing more than twice as much as conventional meat in 2025. The Netherlands witnessed a similar decline, driven largely by a drop-off in sales of higher-priced branded products. Prices also increased in the UK, where plant-based meat in supermarkets (excluding discounters) contracted significantly, while separate data from NielsenIQ suggested a shift towards discounter stores.

Breewood said the findings point to a significant opportunity: if producers can continue improving taste while bringing prices closer to those of conventional meat, plant-based meat could play a much larger role in achieving crucial climate goals and improving public health, without requiring consumers to give up familiar dishes.

Rebalancing protein mix to protect security

Growth in plant-based alternatives will also be essential to Europe’s protein security, according to new research by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Europe must “rebalance” its protein production and consumption mix in order to reduce emissions, protect biodiversity and reduce reliance on imports, the agency said this month, June.

Plant-based proteins like meat and dairy alternatives as well as legumes and pulses offer “the most immediate environmental benefits”, the EEA said. Emerging options like insects, biomass fermentation, precision fermentation and cultivated meat will also play a role.

“[...] the benefits of protein diversification are likely to outweigh the associated risks and trade-offs, particularly as the transition towards a more diversified protein system is expected to unfold gradually rather than through abrupt structural change,” reads the report, Protein diversification — strategic risks and opportunities for sustainable food systems.

EEA forecasts that established plant-based proteins are “likely to remain central in the near term due to their relatively high technological maturity, environmental performance and market readiness. Insects, biomass fermentation, precision fermentation and cultivated meat may play more specialised or longer-term roles across food, feed and ingredient markets,” it added.

The average protein intake among adults in the EU is around 80-85 grams per person per day, exceeding dietary requirements for most population groups. Animal‑based products account for roughly 60% of total protein intake.

The EEA said: “Although dietary shifts that incorporate more plant-based foods are emerging in some member states, sustained demand for livestock-derived foods continues to shape production systems, associated feed demand and broader agricultural markets.”