Summary of global plant-based consumer preference trends
- Plant-based meat faces decline yet retains strong projected global growth
- Traditional options like tofu grow steadily but remain consumer minority choices
- Market forecasts show plant-based meat achieving higher long-term CAGR globally
- UK data indicates meat alternatives outsell non-analogue options by fivefold
- Shifting shares reveal tofu rising slowly as taste drives meat analogues
The decline of plant-based meat has brought with it something akin to an existential crisis for the plant-based sector overall. After a brief boom in the 2010s, major plant-based brands are struggling, plant-based products are being removed from restaurant menus and many consumers are embracing meat once more.
It has been suggested that traditional plant-based foods, as well as as tofu and tempeh, could fill this vacuum. Unlike plant-based meat, they are not seen as ultra-processed by consumers, and do not need to fight for the same level of market acceptance as they are already deeply embedded within traditional cultures.
But it isn’t clear that consumers actually prefer options like tofu, tempeh and seitan. In many ways, plant-based meat is still dominant.
What plant-based options are consumers buying?
Despite discussions of a downturn, and the struggle of key brands such as Beyond Meat, the plant-based meat market as a whole is projected by some sources to stay in dynamic growth.
According to the market research firm Market Research Future, plant-based meat has a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.56% between 2025 and 2035.
The sector is seeing robust growth, according to the analytics platform, particularly driven by Asia-Pacific. Health and sustainability consciousness is driving the trend.
Meanwhile, tofu from the same market analyst has a CAGR of 4.2% for the same period, and tempeh had one of 14.75%.
Plant-based products that do not mimic meat are unlikely to overtake plant-based meat, according to Helen Breewood, senior market and consumer insights manager at thinktank the Good Food Institute (GFI) Europe.
“While there is a market for plant-based products that aren’t intended to replicate meat and dairy, this is likely to remain relatively small,” she suggests.
According to GFI’s own sales data analysis, plant-based meat sales in the UK constitute more than five times that of what it defines as “vegan non-analogue plant-based options”, which include bean burgers, nut roasts and lentil pies.
Taste, Breewood suggests, is a driving factor for this disparity, as plant-based meat provides a taste more familiar to meat eaters than these other options do.
How is the market share changing?
Nevertheless, this does not provide the whole picture. The market is still shifting.
Out of products that GFI tracks in the UK (plant-based meat, tofu, tempeh, seitan and ‘vegan non-analogue plant-based options’), plant-based meat fell as a share by 2% from January 2023 to 2025.
Meanwhile, in the same period, tofu’s share rose from 8.3% to 10.8%. This shift is subtle, yet notable.
According to Market Research Future, the tofu market is seeing success due to versatility – it can be used in both vegan and omnivorous diets. Furthermore, it promises innovations in the future, suggests the marketing platform, including flavoured versions and ready-to-eat varieties.
The popularity of tempeh is growing as well, influenced by consumer belief in sustainability.
Whatever happens, the plant-based market will certainly continue to change. Globally, plant-based food as a whole has a CAGR of 12% between 2026 and 2036, suggests marketing platform Future Market Insights.
The next decade, it predicts, will be driven by ‘clean-label innovation’ as consumers increasingly prioritise health.
The rise of scratch cooking
Part of the growth of plant-based foods is due to the popularity of scratch cooking, according to data from market analytics platform Nielsen IQ.
Plant-based is back in growth in UK supermarkets. Sales of plant-based foods grew by 1.7% in the closing weeks of 2025.
Components for plant-based meals are driving growth. Sales of lant-based mince are up almost 25% in UK suparmarket Tesco, while tofu, tempeh and seitan are up 12%. Even snacking products, like picnic eggs and falafels, are up by 5%.