The global meat substitute market size was valued at $4,512.1 million in 2019, and is projected to reach $8,823.6 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 7.2% from 2021 to 2027. Meat substitutes are less prone to the risk of food poisoning or contamination as compared to meat products. Livestock production is often perceived as a complex business that involves the management of animal waste and slaughtering.

Moreover, the possibilities of food contamination are high along the supply chain, especially in case of expensive refrigeration and unreliable power supplies.

Furthermore, the risk of animal-borne disease associated with meat products has gradually created an undesirable impact on the consumers and rise in health concerns. On the contrary, the production of plant-based food involves fewer chances for contamination or spoilage while cultured meat production assures laboratory level control of the whole process. This has enabled to create a positive impact on the meat substitute market. Furthermore, clean eating trend is on rise, wherein consumers want to know and understand what they are eating. Globally, consumers are seeking products with clean labels and recognizable ingredients while manufacturers are opting for ingredients that offer high performance and applications, with simple ingredients sourced from low-processed food. Plant-based meat substitutes include ingredients, such as fibers, starches, gums, and other stabilizers, in addition to plant-based proteins. They are not only multi-functional but also natural. Therefore, increase in demand for clean label and natural products is one of the major factors propelling the growth of the meat substitute market.

Rise in demand for innovative products has driven product development across chilled, ambient, and frozen segments. Innovation provides a wider choice of products and brands to consumers, and allows meat substitute products to gain improved shelf space and recognition. Supermarkets have responded to this growth in the market and are significantly increasing the shelf space given to meat substitute products.

Furthermore, existing industry players, especially the multinational food and drinks companies, have increasingly become aware of the small-scale startup brands innovating in the meat substitute market space.

For instance, in December 2018, Unilever acquired Vegetarian Butcher, the Netherlands-based meat substitute brand. With the growth of meat substitute market space, a wider range of ingredients is being used to broaden the product range. These ingredients are often identified due to their ability to provide consumers with high levels of protein and nutritional value.

Moreover, a wide variety of ingredients offers consumers more choice and innovative flavors, and also ensures that their dietary requirements are met. Therefore, rise in number of consumers preferring meat alternatives and significant investment in new product innovation are expected to continue to offer remunerative opportunity for the expansion of the global market during the forecast period.

The meat substitute industry is segmented on the basis of product type, source, category, and region. By product type, it is classified into tofu-based, tempeh-based, TVP-based, seitan-based, quorn-based, and others. By source, it is divided into soy-based, wheat-based, mycoprotein, and others. By category, it is categorized into frozen, refrigerated, and shelf stable. By region, it is studied across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

By product type, the TVP-basedsegment constitutes a major market share; however, the tempeh-based segment is projected to experience growth at the highest CAGR during the meat substitute market forecast period.

By source, the meat substitute market is segregated into soy-based, wheat-based, mycoprotein, and others. The soy-based segment accounted for the highest revenue in 2019. However, the wheat-based segment is anticipated to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period.

By category, the meat substitute market is fragmented into frozen, refrigerated, and shelf-stable. The frozen segment accounted for the highest revenue in 2019. Frozen burgers, crumbles, sausages, patties, nuggets, pizza, strips, and other such products have gained popularity, owing to their longer shelf life.

The key players profiled in the report are Amy's Kitchen, BeyondMeat, Cauldron Foods, Garden Protein International, Inc., Meatless B.V., VBites Foods Ltd., MGP Ingredients (U.S.), Sonic Biochem Extractions Limited, Kellogg Company, and Archer-Daniels-Midland Company.

More about this report >>