Meat substitutes are a small but established part of the meat category. U.S. retail plant-based meat and seafood sales totaled $1.2 billion in 2024, while global retail sales were estimated at $6.1 billion. The figures below show where the category is growing, where it is losing momentum, and what shoppers say about price, taste, convenience, and health.
Contents
- U.S. market size and sales
- Products and sales channels
- Prices compared with conventional meat
- Household purchasing behavior
- Awareness, taste, and barriers
- Who buys plant-based meat?
- UK adoption and perceptions
U.S. market size and sales
The U.S. retail market remains substantial in dollars, although recent sales measures show contraction. In 2024, U.S. retail plant-based meat and seafood sales reached $1.2 billion. Dollar sales fell 7% from 2023, and unit sales fell 11% to 195 million units in the 52 weeks ending December 1, 2024. The category represented 0.8% of total U.S. retail meat dollar sales and 1.1% of total retail meat unit sales, using the comparison in the source report. GFI, 2024 State of the Industry: Plant-based meat, seafood, eggs, dairy, and ingredients
The global picture was less uniform. Global retail plant-based meat and seafood sales were estimated at $6.1 billion in 2024, about 4% higher than in 2023. A separate 2025 analysis estimated global retail sales at $6.6 billion, excluding tofu and tempeh. The U.S. accounted for 28% of global retail dollar sales in 2025, while Europe and North America together accounted for nearly 83%. These global figures are estimates and use the stated category definitions. GFI, Analyzing plant-based meat & seafood sales
The retail trend also varies by channel. Plant-based meat and seafood held an 8% share of U.S. packaged-meat dollar sales in the natural retail channel in 2024. Its natural-channel dollar velocity increased 12% from 2023, while conventional multi-outlet dollar velocity increased 2%. That contrast suggests that category performance depends heavily on the store type and the shopper base being measured. GFI, 2024 State of the Industry
Products and sales channels
Frozen products dominated the U.S. retail mix, representing 70% of plant-based meat and seafood dollar sales in 2025. Plant-based beef, chicken, and pork together accounted for 86% of U.S. plant-based meat category sales. Analog plant-based meat and seafood products supplied more than 90% of both category dollar and unit sales. GFI, Analyzing plant-based meat & seafood sales
Product shares are smaller when each alternative is compared with its corresponding packaged-meat category. In 2024, plant-based chicken, beef, and pork each held roughly a 2%–3% dollar share of their respective U.S. packaged-meat categories. Plant-based patties held an estimated 6%–7% share of retail packaged-meat patty dollar sales. These are category-specific shares, not percentages of all meat sales. GFI, Analyzing plant-based meat & seafood sales
Foodservice adds a different product balance. U.S. broadline-distributor foodservice sales of plant-based proteins totaled $291 million in 2025. Dollar sales fell 7% from 2024 and pound sales fell 5%. Analog plant-based meat and seafood supplied 54% of foodservice plant-based protein pound sales, while tofu and tempeh supplied more than one-third. Plant-based pork reached a 10% share of foodservice plant-based protein pound sales, and its pound sales increased 3% in 2025. The foodservice definition includes analog meat and seafood, tofu, tempeh, and grain, nut, and vegetable alternatives. GFI, Analyzing plant-based meat & seafood sales
Prices compared with conventional meat
Price remains one of the clearest differences between meat substitutes and conventional meat. In U.S. retail during 2024, plant-based meat averaged $8.08 per pound versus $4.44 for animal-based meat, an 82% premium. The gap varied by animal type:
| Product comparison | Plant-based price | Conventional price | Reported premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beef | $7.64/lb | $6.69/lb | 14% |
| Chicken | $7.87/lb | $3.08/lb | 155% |
| Pork | $9.06/lb | $3.19/lb | 184% |
| Turkey | $8.60/lb | $2.60/lb | 231% |
Source: GFI, 2024 State of the Industry. Dollar values are nominal and source-reported.
Prices moved differently in the two categories. Average U.S. plant-based meat and seafood retail prices increased 4% in 2024, compared with a 1% increase for animal-based meat prices. In 2025, plant-based prices increased about 1%, while conventional meat and seafood prices increased 4%. Even so, most U.S. plant-based meat and seafood animal types were priced one to three times higher than conventional equivalents in 2025. About one in four plant-based meat products was purchased on promotion that year. GFI, 2024 State of the Industry; GFI, Analyzing plant-based meat & seafood sales
Household purchasing behavior
Plant-based meat and seafood reached 11% of U.S. households in 2025, down from roughly 20% in 2021. Among households that bought the products in 2025, 62% purchased them more than once. The average purchasing household made about six purchase occasions and bought 11.7 units. GFI, Analyzing plant-based meat & seafood sales
Most buyers did not eliminate conventional meat. In 2025, 96% of U.S. households that purchased plant-based meat also purchased conventional meat. Those dual-buying households bought conventional meat on 33 occasions and purchased 80 units. This makes plant-based meat a complementary purchase for most buying households in the measured period, rather than a complete replacement for conventional meat.
Plant-based buyers were also active grocery shoppers. They made 100 grocery trips per household in 2025, compared with 85 for the average grocery household, and spent $3,082 on groceries annually versus $2,598 for the average grocery household. Among plant-based meat buyers who bought food online, annual spending was $206, compared with $172 for the average online shopper. These spending comparisons describe the measured household groups; they do not establish that plant-based purchases caused higher grocery spending. GFI, Analyzing plant-based meat & seafood sales
Awareness, taste, and barriers
Awareness is high, but regular use is more limited. In a December 2024 survey of 3,079 U.S. adults, 69% had heard of plant-based meat, 21% had not, and 11% were unsure. Fifty-three percent had eaten plant-based meat at some point, and 40% had eaten it in the past year. Twenty-four percent were frequent or occasional users who ate it at least monthly. At the same time, 43% had never eaten plant-based meat in 2024, while 4% were unsure or had no opinion, and 13% were lapsed consumers who had eaten it previously but not in 2024. GFI, Consumer snapshot: Plant-based meat in the US
Perceptions leave room for improvement. Only 46% of surveyed U.S. adults rated plant-based meat as very or somewhat tasty, including 20% who rated it very tasty. Among consumers in Mintel research cited by GFI who did not buy plant-based proteins more often in 2024, price was a barrier for 38% and taste was a barrier for 36%. In addition, 26% said plant-based meat was not too or not at all easy to find in grocery stores. GFI, 2024 State of the Industry; GFI, Consumer snapshot
Retail location can influence access. Among U.S. consumers who ate plant-based meat monthly or more, 56% bought it at their usual grocery store and 26% went to a different grocery store. Among surveyed Americans who bought plant-based meat in the prior year, 52% bought it only in retail, 16% bought it only in foodservice, and 25% bought it in both channels. GFI, Consumer snapshot
Who buys plant-based meat?
Plant-based meat reaches beyond vegetarian and vegan households. Among surveyed plant-based meat eaters, 57% identified as omnivores, 15% as flexitarians, 11% as vegetarian, pescatarian, or vegan, and 15% as carnivores. In the same survey, 56% of plant-based meat eaters living with at least one other person said another household member also ate plant-based meat. Among U.S. adults who ate plant-based meat in 2023, 31% said they ate more than in previous years, while 23% said they ate less. GFI, Consumer snapshot
These percentages describe the named survey populations and are not population-wide sales estimates. The retail series also uses custom SPINS categories, and some reported retail measures exclude tofu and tempeh. Comparing a survey percentage with a retail share therefore requires care: one measures people and reported behavior, while the other measures sales within a defined product category.
UK adoption and perceptions
UK survey results show both continued use and a sizeable group of former users. In the Food and You 2 Wave 8 survey, whose fieldwork ran from October 12, 2023, to January 8, 2024, 27% of respondents currently ate meat alternatives, 22% used to but no longer did, and 44% had never eaten them. Among current eaters, 30% ate meat alternatives at least two or three times a week, 43% ate them occasionally, and 25% ate them once a month or less. Food Standards Agency, Food and You 2: Wave 8 Key Findings
Current UK eaters cited environmental or sustainability reasons at 34%, health at 34%, taste at 33%, and animal welfare at 32%. Earlier Wave 4 results from 2022 recorded 32% current eaters, 21% former users, and 39% who had never eaten meat alternatives. Among current Wave 4 eaters, 34% ate them at least two or three times a week, 45% occasionally, and 21% once a month or less. Food Standards Agency, Food and You 2: Wave 4 Key findings
Wave 4 perceptions also show why adoption is not determined by one issue. Forty-two percent thought meat alternatives were more environmentally friendly than meat, 8% thought they were less environmentally friendly, and 27% thought they were healthier than meat. Thirty percent considered them about as healthy and 15% less healthy. On price, 33% thought meat alternatives were more expensive, 29% about as expensive, and 16% less expensive. Food Standards Agency, Food and You 2: Wave 4 Key findings
Official UK food-security data provide a longer purchasing perspective. Purchased quantities of soya and novel protein foods reached 15 grams per person per week in financial year 2023, after 5 grams in 2000, then fell to 10 grams in financial year 2024. Separately, Kantar estimates cited by GOV.UK found that fewer than 10% of UK consumers ate an alternative to meat and fish in an average week in the year to December 2022. These measures cover different definitions and periods, so they should not be treated as interchangeable with Food and You survey percentages. GOV.UK, United Kingdom Food Security Digest 2025