Three takeaways from a record-setting year for alternative proteins

The global market for plant-based foods continues to expand. Global retail dollar sales of plant-based meat grew 17 percent in 2021 to $5.6 billion—doubling from four years ago, according to Euromonitor data analyzed by GFI.

We can see from household panel data that, in the United States, the percentage of households purchasing plant-based meat has increased significantly in the past two years, from 15 percent in 2019 to 19 percent in 2021. While retail activity has been strong in subcategories like plant-based burgers and sausage, 2021 saw an influx of new plant-based chicken products. 

Still emerging is the alternative seafood category—where products that meet consumer needs of taste and affordability could earn more of the multi-billion-dollar seafood market and offer a critically needed reprieve for overfished oceans and at-risk biodiversity. 

Plant-based seafood U.S. retail sales increased 14 percent in the last year and 42 percent in the last two years to $13.9 million in 2021, according to SPINS data commissioned by GFI and the Plant Based Foods Association. While this growth is encouraging, plant-based seafood remains a small fraction of the overall plant-based meat and seafood category and a white-space opportunity in the market. 

Notably, 2021 saw critical research performed in pioneering new technologies in plant-based manufacturing, as shear-cell technology and 3D printing were explored as alternatives to high-moisture extrusion. Developing technologies like this may be pivotal in helping to further expand the variety and improve the sensory qualities of available alternative protein products—taste, texture, and price remain critical challenges to unlocking more growth in plant-based meat.

More scientific and technological developments like this are covered in the Science and technology section in each report.