Chilled plant-based food sales are back in growth after years of decline, according to new figures from Nielsen, as Tesco says shoppers see vegetables as a “fundamental part of how people expect to eat in future”
Growing demand for protein and fibre have put plant-based products back in growth for the first time in years, driven by a micro-trend for beans and lentils.
Demand for chilled plant-based food grew by just under one per cent across UK supermarkets in the last year and has increased to 1.7 per cent in the last 12 weeks, according to new Neilsen data.
Shoppers are being more selective and looking for the health benefits of food, according to Tesco, which said it has seen increased demand for high protein ingredients such as tofu and tempeh, both up by more than 10 per cent in the last year.
The UK’s largest retailer also noted a “growing micro-trend focused on whole-food plant proteins”, including beans, lentils and chickpeas, which is driving renewed sales across the plant-based category.
“Increasingly, the inclusion of vegetables and plant foods is being seen not as a passing preference, but as a fundamental part of how people expect to eat in the future,” said Tesco plant-based food buyer Bethan Jones.
“We are beginning to see the green shoots of recovery across the UK’s plant-based food sector, as a growing number of shoppers place long-term health and wellbeing at the centre of their food choices.”
The plant-based movement emerged as the fastest-growing food trend of the late 20th century, Jones said, fuelled by demand for meat alternatives and a heightened awareness of sustainability.
“However, economic pressures and the fading novelty of early experimentation among casual consumers meant that this rapid growth was difficult to maintain,” she continued.
“Now, momentum is returning in a more grounded form. A growing micro-trend focused on whole-food plant proteins — including beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu and wholegrains — is helping to drive renewed sales, signalling a shift from short-term trend to lasting dietary change.”
The news has been welcomed by The Vegan Society, as CEO Libby Peppiatt said the figures show “veganism is in good health”.
“Whether consumers are driven by animal welfare, dietary, environmental or simply cost of living concerns, a vegan or plant-based lifestyle is an all-round win,” she said.
The decline in plant-based foods was discussed at a panel at the Oxford Real Farming Conference last month, where panellists predicted a second wave of more successful product development could turn sales around.
Speaking on a panel at the conference, TV chef and campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said the plant-based boom, which at its peak saw sales rise by 40 per cent and a huge proliferation in new product development, was “partly driven by hype and partly by good old-fashioned advertising.”
“Is there going to be a role for plant-based products? Yes. I don’t think we should necessarily be cheering their decline,” he said.
“Sales are steady and they’re not going away. It will be interesting to see if the consumer is seduced this time round,” he continued, but added: “We want to see more minimally processed foods. There is massive energy used to turn a pea into something like a fish finger.”
