Sales of meat-free food in the UK have grown 40% from £582m in 2014 to an estimated £816m in 2019, according to new research by Mintel.
Sales are expected to be in excess of £1.1bn by 2024 while the number of Brits who have eaten meat-free food has risen from 50% in 2017 to 65% in 2019. The researched showed the proportion of meat eaters who have reduced or limited the amount of meat they consume has risen from 28% in 2017 to 39% in 2019.
Women are more likely than men to have limited or reduced the amount of meat in their diets (42% compared with 36%) – although this rises to 45% among all under-45s. However, there has been no significant increase in the proportion of consumers who say they are vegan since 2018, with those following a vegan diet still only equating to about 1% of the UK population.
Kate Vlietstra, Mintel global food and drink analyst, said: “While the health benefits of eating less meat appear to still be the primary motivation of flexitarian consumers, the environmental impact of the meat industry has also become an important reason for meat avoidance. Generation Z consumers (aged 16 to 24) are leading the charge here, with more than half (54%) of under-25s seeing the reduction of animal products as a good way to lessen humans’ impact on the environment.
