Global popularity of purely plant-based diet is rising

Hardly anyone will be surprised at hearing that veganism and abstaining from the use of animal products in diet has become a current trend. No matter whether you are vegan, flexitarian, animal lover or ecologist, or you just like vegetarian meals, you might like the following data from recent years.

  • Worldwide: Australia was the most popular country for veganism in 2018, according to Google Trends, followed by the UK and New Zealand.
  • USA: The number of vegans in America grew by 600% from nearly 4 million in 2014 to 19.6 million in 2017.
  • USA: 1 in 3 Americans have stopped or reduced their meat consumption.
  • USA: 400 million fewer animals were killed in 2014 compared to 2007 because people were eating less animal products.
  • USA: There were as many people searching for vegan Thanksgiving recipes as there were people searching for turkey Thanksgiving recipes in November 2018.
  • USA: Egg company Cal-Maine Foods reported a $74m loss due to vegan egg alternatives.
  • USA: US retail sales of plant-based foods that directly replace animal products grew by 8.1% in the 12 months to August 2017. This is compared with a fall in sales of 0.2% for all foods sold across American grocery stores. Plant-based cheese alternatives were the fastest-growing category, enjoying an 18% growth.
  • USA: Vegan milk is predicted to represent almost a half (40%) of the dairy and dairy alternative beverages industry by 2021 – up from 25% in 2016. The non-dairy industry is predicted to be worth $28 billion – a staggering growth from only $6 billion in 2016.
  • USA: A 2013 Mintel survey showed that US consumers try meat alternatives for the following reasons: 33% – I think they are healthy; 31% – I enjoy the taste; 31% – I am trying to reduce my meat consumption; 30% – I’m adding protein to my diet; 23% – I’m adding variety to my meals.

  • USA: Non-dairy milk accounts for 40% of all milk sales. Source: Gallup
  • Europe: Europe was the largest market for meat substitutes in 2016, accounting for 39% of global sales.
  • Germany: Germany is the global leader at vegan product development and launches, accounting for 15% of global vegan introductions between July 2017 and June 2018.
  • Germany: One in ten consumers buy meat alternatives, rising to one in five for Germans in the 16-24 age group. In 2005, only 1% of Germans considered themselves vegetarians; this rose to 7% in 2018.
  • Sweden: Sweden saw its largest decrease in meat consumption for 30 years with a 2.6% drop in people eating meat in 2017.
  • Italy: Italy had the fastest growing vegetarian population over 2011-2016 with a growth of 94.4%.
  • Italy: Around half of Italian consumers say they are lowering their red meat intake, while 24% say they are increasing the amount of vegetarian processed foods in their diet.
  • Poland: Around 60% of Poles said they planned to cut back on their meat consumption in 2018.
  • Australia: Australia’s packaged vegan food market is currently worth almost $136 million and is set to reach $215 million by 2020.
  • Southeast Asia: Between 2012 and 2016, new vegetarian and vegan product launches increased by 140% and 440% respectively in Southeast Asia alone.

We are sure that such statistics are far from boring. On the contrary, they make us very happy. And there is more to come. Please follow our posts!

SINEA wish you a nice day.