Hybrid meat growth summary
- Retailers back hybrid meat to meet sustainability promises
- Cost pressures push producers toward cheaper plant inputs within hybrid formulations
- Consumers value improved nutrition and familiar taste offered by hybrid meats
- Optimal blends use around thirty percent plants to balance texture quality
- Minced formats enable easy integration while charcuterie shows growing hybrid interest
That plant-based meat is in decline is now common knowledge. As affordability, taste and concerns around processing make plant-based alternatives less attractive to consumers, key players such as Beyond Meat continue to lose revenue.
Yet there’s one outlier to this trend: hybrid meat. These products, which combine alt-meat ingredients with traditional meat, are lauded by many as the next step for the sector.
And it has significant growth potential as well. According to Custom Market Insights, it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.4% between 2025 and 2034.
But what is driving manufacturer interest?
Why industry is interested in hybrid meat
There are several reasons why the hybrid meat market is seeing significant interest from industry.
A major motivation for retailers lies in “meeting commitments they’ve made to rebalance their protein sales, shifting somewhat away from animal and toward plant”, says Tom Rees, global insight manager for staple foods at market analytics company Euromonitor.
Belgian retailer Colruyt says as much, specifying that the shift towards hybrids aligns with its green commitments.
“Part of the push behind blended products is the need to move on from underperforming 100% plant‑based meat substitutes so that these protein targets can still be met", says Rees.
“As plant‑based substitutes are either shrinking, as in the US, or growing more slowly, as in Western Europe, retailers and producers are putting more emphasis on hybrids as a way to meet plant‑protein goals and, more importantly, to cut costs."
Hybrid meat and cost cutting
Another driver is cost: as plant-based protein is cheaper than animal-based, suppliers are gravitating towards it.
Lowie Vanholme, commercial director from mycoprotein producer Naplasol, agrees. “Hybrid is one of the most relevant conversations currently taking place with meat processors across Europe”.
Why? Because the meat producers are looking for ways to future-proof their portfolio, believes Vanholme.
“For processors, hybrid solutions can help manage cost volatility, raw material availability, improve Nutri-Score, increase fibre content and optimise fat levels, while maintaining protein levels and processing efficiency.” Hybrid is “not a niche discussion anymore”.
Hybrid meat offers lower recipe costs, adds Niels E. Hower, member of the executive board of directors at ingredients company Beneo.
With the availability of livestock set to decline and the price of meat and fish already rising, it provides them with a clear, cheaper alternative. Beneo is seeing significant interest from meat producers because of this cost reduction potential.
However, consumer acceptance is not guaranteed. Many companies are currently only putting small volumes on shelves, to test whether or not consumers will accept them.
“If those volumes don’t convert to sales, the outlook for hybrids may be questionable”, says Hower.
Are consumers interested in hybrid meat?
While it’s clear why hybrid appeals to industry, another question remains: do consumers themselves actually want it?
Ingredient suppliers say yes. “For consumers, hybrid offers a step toward more balanced eating, without having to change drastically,” says Naplasol’s Vanholme.
By improving the nutritional profile of meat whilst maintaining the taste and familiarity, hybrid is designed to offer consumers a compromise between meat and plant-based.
When formulated right, hybrid products can provide a familiar texture and taste, yet with added nutritional benefits like high fibre content, we’re told. Many hybrid products have done well on pre-market launch consumer panels.
Hybrid meat’s target audience
Hybrid meat is primarily positioned towards flexitarians, explains Marc Renauld, customer marketing leader for Europe in savoury at ingredients supplier Roquette.
“In our view, hybrid meat is primarily a B2C product – designed to appeal to flexitarians, health-conscious consumers, and people simply reducing their meat intake. Consumer interest is mainly linked to taste, sustainability, and nutritional benefits."
Whether hybrid appeals to consumers depends in part on product positioning, says Beneo’s Hower.
“Whether they’re marketed as blended, enriched or mixed-source, one thing is certain, ‘hybrid’ is only industry jargon and there’s broad consensus that it’s not the right term to use,” he explains.
“Product positioning is crucial and we have to clearly reassure the consumer on the product quality and good taste, highlighting additional benefits such as an improved nutritional profile and being a more responsible choice.”
But not everyone agrees that hybrid will be appealing to consumers. Lauren May and Durk Bosma, researchers at the Future of Food Institute, suggest that many consumers see hybrid meat as the “worst of both worlds”, offering neither the environmental and ethical benefits of plant-based nor the taste and texture of traditional meat.
What ratio of meat to meat substitute works best?
Of course, not all hybrid products are created equal. If opting to create a hybrid product, a manufacturer must decide what ratio of meat to meat-free substitute works best.
For Naplasol, which develops mycoprotein, it depends on the intention of the manufacturer.
Some, says Vanholme, add only 10-20% mycoprotein, simply to change the nutritional composition of the product. Others, who want to more clearly differentiate their product on the market, might opt for 40-50%.
In the case of plant-based, there is no ‘right’ ratio, says Roquette’s Renauld. However, “blends incorporating around 30% plant-based ingredients tend to be especially appealing and have a proven ability to attract consumers”.
Levels of plant-based content above 40% can cause texture degradation, off-flavours or colour issues.
Is hybrid meat the future?
Hybrid meat has a lot of potential for food manufacturers. It can reduce costs of production, and improve sustainability credentials.
Consumer uptake is more uncertain. While some ingredients companies, such as Naplasol, say that pre-market panels have enjoyed hybrid products, the category is untested in the wider market.
Whether hybrid meat really is the future will depend on product positioning, formulation, and how consumers weigh up the benefits and the drawbacks of the product.
