Consumer attitudes to hybrid meat summary
- Hybrid meat gains traction as health‑minded consumers seek familiar sustainable options
- Studies show consumers enjoy hybrids’ meatier texture compared with plant alternatives
- Research finds strong acceptance but low willingness to pay premium prices
- Rising meat costs position hybrid meat as a practical cost‑saving choice
- Clear placement and taste‑focused marketing boost hybrid meat’s commercial potential
As plant-based trend experiences decline, hybrid meat has been on manufacturers’ lips more than ever.
A range of key industry players, including ingredients suppliers, are looking towards hybrid as a way both to meet their sustainability commitments, and to cut costs. Companies including Beneo and Roquette are embracing hybrid.
But while hybrid has full-throated support from industry, what do consumers think?
What do consumers think of hybrid meat?
Hybrid meat is gaining traction among consumers, according to the organisation EIT Food.
Data suggests that appeal is strongest for those with health and environmental considerations. These consumers see it as a compromise between familiarity and change.
Nevertheless, taste and texture remain a key factor for all alternative proteins, and hybrids are no exception.
For many consumers, the meatier the texture, the better. This means that hybrids, which are meatier by definition than full plant-based alternatives, often have the edge. Taste testing has suggested that consumers enjoy hybrid products.
One study found that consumers like the taste and texture of such products. In a blind test, consumers preferred a hybrid burger to plant-based Beyond and Impossible burgers (although once information was provided, their preferences shifted to preferring the Impossible Burger).
Another study in Belgium and Germany suggested that consumers are more willing to accept hybrid than fully vegetarian alternatives.
Nevertheless, a 2023 study suggested that consumers were not yet willing to pay a premium for hybrid products.
Research shows that consumers tend to react well to hybrid products due to their taste, texture and health benefits. Researcher Simona Grosso from University College Dublin carried out consumer reviews of hybrid meat available from UK supermarket retailers. She found significant consumer acceptance.
“The majority of the reviews were extremely positive about hybrid meat products, because they even had a better texture, taste and flavour than the meat counterparts and they contained vegetables and fibre as an added bonus,” says Grosso.
Many consumers who have sampled hybrid products describe them as “the best of both worlds”, according to Lorena Savani, director of protein and biotech thought leadership at EIT Food.
Will hybrid meat be successful?
Hybrid meat has been around for a few years now. Many of the early hybrid products were launched at the beginning of the decade, but by 2024, many were already being taken off the shelves.
There are a number of reasons for this, suggests Grosso. She chalks this up to price, the ruthless nature of retail, and the fact that, at that point, the flexitarian trend was not yet fully developed.
Another reason is, because of the unique nature of such products, where to place them on shelf was not always clear. “They are not fully meat, they are not fully plant, so where do you put them, how do you make them stand out?” asks Grosso.
Things have changed since then. Now, Grosso suggests, motivation to consume hybrid products could be different – the high price of meat makes it a cost-saving measure.
“With meat prices, especially beef, going up, hybrid meat products are likely to make a comeback, for price reasons rather than flexitarianism.”
According to EIT Food, hybrids can also provide better prices than fully plant-based products, due to the processing costs of the latter.
“Rather than requiring companies to fully replicate the complex texture and flavour of meat through plant‑only formulations, which can be costly and technologically demanding, hybrids allow producers to reduce manufacturing complexity while still delivering a satisfying sensory experience. This often enables more competitive pricing, improving accessibility for consumers and supporting stronger market performance“, says EIT’s Savani.
EIT Food’s data suggests that early market performance has been strong. When such products are positioned clearly, with a focus on composition and taste, trials have performed well.
“Retailers and manufacturers who have applied these insights, giving hybrids visibility in the meat aisle and positioning them as practical, everyday swaps, report that consumer interest is translating into measurable commercial potential.”
