Market for meat substitutes is shrinking
Published: Tuesday, Jan 9th 2024, 10:01
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Around one in four Swiss people buy vegan substitutes for meat, fish, milk or cheese several times a month - with a slight upward trend. However, the market share of meat substitutes is decreasing slightly.
According to the Nielsen Institute, Swiss retailers generated sales of CHF 134.4 million with dairy substitute products and CHF 86.8 million with meat substitute products in 2023. Compared to the previous year, sales of dairy substitute products increased by six percent. According to the figures, fish alternatives grew by 6.7 percent in the same period.
By contrast, sales of meat substitutes fell by 1.5% after stagnating in the previous year. Among the products, sausage alternatives were the most popular: These displaced meat substitute burgers from the top 3 best-selling products.
Currently, schnitzel substitutes are the most popular, with sales of CHF 16.3 million, followed by vegan alternatives to sliced meat.
Overall, total sales of meat substitute products have risen sharply since 2018 - sales of meat substitute burgers have almost quadrupled. In the last two years, however, the trend has been downwards. Only vegan sausage and charcuterie alternatives continue to show strong growth, according to the report.
Share of substitute product consumers stable
Meanwhile, the proportion of consumers willing to try new products remains the same: as the "Plant Based Food Report 2024" study published by retailer Coop on Tuesday shows, 28% of respondents said that they regularly eat substitute products last year. This is 1 percentage point more than in the previous year.
58% of respondents stated that they consciously avoid animal-based foods several times a month. The proportion of so-called flexitarians has therefore fallen by 5 percentage points in the past year.
According to the report, this type of diet has only increased in recent years and has now stabilized again. This means that the same number of people now describe themselves as flexitarian as in 2020.
Two thirds still cited environmental protection as the main reason for not eating animal products. Animal welfare and personal health were cited slightly less frequently.
The study is based on data from Coop and a survey by market researcher Link. With 2,200 participants, this is representative for Switzerland.
©Keystone/SDA
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