Clean Label
According to Jump Rope Innovation, a major development in plant-based products will be natural labels built from real plants.
Some observers suggest that as the novelty of plant-based options wears off, consumers will pay ever closer attention to whether these products are genuinely healthier choices — and to whether they cost more.
Another point of view frames it this way: plant-based products will become the new standard, because they have moved past being a novelty people buy on hype and become a genuinely healthy food. The younger consumers most likely to buy plant-based products are a conscious group — they read the ingredients list and want to understand what goes into their bodies.
Meat and Seafood
According to Datassential's 2023 Food Trends report, "42% of consumers plan to buy plant-based meat products in 2023."
As the plant-based meat industry keeps growing, the report makes clear that the keys will be a persuasive message and products that are competitively priced while tasting as good as conventional meat. Greater variety will fuel the sector's rapid growth in the years ahead.
A great entry point into more specialised plant-based products — whole cuts, for example — could be chef-created dishes in restaurants, where a first taste can be a positive experience that encourages people to bring plant-based meat home too. With renowned chefs across the country and around the world partnering with alternative-protein companies, we are likely to see this trend accelerate.
There is also growing demand for plant-based seafood, and this year's consumption curve looks set to climb well past last year's. The number of plant-based seafood products sold at retail in the US grew by 25% in 2021.
Beyond the Plate
Baby food: As adults' diets change, so do their concerns about what they feed their children. We are seeing a rise in baby-food brands creating "forward-looking" products aimed at building healthy, lifelong eating habits for the next generation. Since these children will grow up seeing plant-based eating as the norm, this is a small preview of future growth across the wider plant-based category.
Plant-based snacks: It's worth remembering that many of our favourite snacks are already plant-based. That said, we'll be seeing more of them — made with upcycled plants, regenerative agriculture and other new methods.
Vegan eating can now be found in every corner of our lives, and the wind behind it keeps strengthening. We'll be back with new products in the days ahead — don't forget to follow VitaVegantis!