Vegan food and beverage future: overview
- Veganism is declining as consumers reject restrictive dietary lifestyles
- Nutrition concerns and ultra-processing perceptions are weakening plant-based demand
- Taste, price, health and convenience now drive purchasing decisions
- Brands could grow by marketing animal-free foods and beverages beyond veganism
- Vegan products remain accessible despite reduced vegan front-of-pack branding
Once a powerhouse of food and beverage, the vegan trend is now in rapid decline, with major brands like Beyond Meat reporting significant losses, and consumers turning away from the restrictive diet in their droves.
But could it be that the food industry is missing a major opportunity? One that would not only keep the plant-based industry alive but also help drive growth for non-plant-based manufacturers.
To understand the potential, we first need to understand why the plant-based industry is struggling.
Plant-based decline
For many consumers, veganism has proven difficult to sustain long term. As one of the most restrictive dietary approaches, it requires the elimination of all animal-derived products, making social occasions, eating out and everyday meal planning more challenging than more flexible diets such as flexitarianism.
Nutrition has also emerged as a key concern. While a well-planned vegan diet can provide all essential nutrients, growing consumer awareness around potential deficiencies in vitamin B12, iron, calcium, omega-3 fatty acids and protein has prompted some to reconsider whether a fully plant-based lifestyle is right for them.
At the same time, the reputation of many plant-based alternatives has taken a hit. Products once celebrated as innovative meat and dairy substitutes are increasingly being criticised for their lengthy ingredients lists and perceived reliance on ultra-processing.
The vegan movement has also suffered from a loss of momentum. During the late 2010s and early 2020s, veganism enjoyed unprecedented visibility, fuelled by documentaries, celebrity and social media influencer endorsements, and headline-grabbing product launches. But trends are cyclical, and the excitement that once surrounded plant-based eating has faded. Influencers who previously championed vegan lifestyles have diversified their content or publicly abandoned the diet altogether, while newer wellness trends such as functionality have captured consumers’ attention.
So, what if the industry dropped the vegan label and its perceived negative connotations, and simply focused on making delicious plant-based foods?
A post-vegan future
“Taste and price are top priorities in consumers’ food and drink choices,” says Kiti Soininen, category director for food and drink at market analysts, Mintel. These are followed by health and convenience.
In other words, ethics are no longer a focus for consumers. That’s not to say they don’t matter at all, but they don’t matter as much.
“How ethical a product is and its environmental impact lag far behind these more immediate, tangible and personally impactful considerations.” says Soininen.
Plant-based brands must therefore align their marketing communications with what does matter, if they want to succeed.
The opportunity lies in moving beyond veganism as an identity and instead positioning animal-free foods and beverages as desirable products in their own right. For years, much of the category’s messaging centred on ethics, sustainability and dietary labels. While these remain important differentiators for some consumers, they’re no longer enough to drive sales.
Instead, brands should focus on creating products that deliver exceptional taste first and foremost, with their animal-free credentials becoming a secondary benefit rather than the headline act. Because, the fact is, consumers don’t typically buy products because they’re vegan. They buy them because they’re delicious, affordable, healthy or convenient. If a product happens to be animal-free as well, that’s a bonus.
This opens the door for growth not just among dedicated plant-based companies, but across the entire food and beverage industry. Products no longer need to target vegans exclusively. Rather, they can be designed for everyone, appealing to the growing number of consumers who aren’t actively seeking vegan products but are happy to choose animal-free options when they meet their expectations on flavour, texture and value. And it might just attract consumers who are actively put off by vegan labelling, bringing animal-free products into the mainstream without the baggage of a dietary identity.
In many respects, the future of animal-free innovation may look less like the vegan boom of the late 2010s and more like the success stories of categories such as oat milk. While early adopters were often motivated by dietary restrictions or ethical concerns, many consumers today simply choose oat milk because they enjoy the taste, texture or functionality in coffee. The product’s plant-based credentials are an advantage, but not necessarily the primary reason for purchase.
“Bold Bean Co offers a case in point and inspiration,” says Soininen. “Sustainability is central to the brand’s purpose, but taste and ‘beanspo’ are at the forefront of its propositioning. This has ensured the brand’s relevance to a much wider audience than just those committed to sustainable or vegan choices, fuelling rapid growth.”
Do plant-based products need the vegan label?
One concern with moving away from vegan branding is whether vegan consumers would still be able to identify them. In reality, finding plant-based foods has never been easier.
There are numerous apps and websites, including Fig, Vegan Pocket and WhatsVegan, dedicated to helping consumers identify plant-based products, while ingredient lists and allergen labelling provide additional reassurance.
The bigger question is whether strong vegan branding hinders growth among the much larger group of non-vegans. While vegan labels can provide reassurance for vegan shoppers, they can also act as a signal that a product is not intended for everyone. By leading with taste, quality and enjoyment, brands may be able to broaden their appeal without alienating their core audience.
In short, the future of vegan foods and beverages may not be vegan food at all, at least not in the way the industry has traditionally defined them. As consumers move away from dietary labels and towards products that deliver on taste, health and value, the most successful animal-free products may be those that stop marketing themselves as vegan.
The question is whether brands are willing to let go of the label that built the category in order to unlock its next phase of growth.
