FI Europe looked at store sales data from NielsenIQ from 13 European countries and found that sales of plant-based vegan supplements and vegan foods grew by 6% in 2022 and by 21% from 2020 to 2022, reaching €5.8 billion.
Sales of plant-based meat reached €2 billion in 2022, which was 6% of the total pre-packaged meat market. Other categories, such as plant-based seafood and cheese, also saw double-digit growth.
The shift toward plant-based products and diets around the world has caused a revolution in the food business, with major food manufacturers and retailers welcoming the change. In Europe, sales of vegan food items in stores have gone up a lot in recent years. This is because new goods and innovations have made it possible for more people to buy plant-based meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy that taste, cost, and are as easy to use as animal products.
Our research examined ten categories of plant-based foods, including meat, seafood, meals, milk, cheese, yoghurt, spreads, cream, ice cream, and desserts. These categories are in vastly diverse stages of development, ranging from the €2.2 billion plant-based milk market, which accounted for 11% of all milk sales in 2022, to small but rapidly expanding categories such as plant-based seafood, which grew at a meteoric rate in 2022.
Plant-based milk, which made up 38% of all plant-based sales, was the market winner, followed by plant-based meat. Plant-based seafood was the smallest category, but it was also one of the fastest rising, with sales increasing by 326% between 2020 and 2022.
Between 2020 and 2022, every category that the study looked at grew.
There were a lot of differences between countries when it came to growth and how popular a category was. Find below full breakdowns of data by country, with full records in both English and the local language.
Austria is one of Europe’s smaller retail areas for plant-based products. But sales data shows that customer demand is growing quickly. Between 2020 and 2022, sales grew by 22% to €99.6 million, which shows that demand is growing quickly.
The most developed type of plant-based food is plant-based milk. In 2022, sales of plant-based milk were worth €49.6 million, and the category continued to grow steadily.
Sales of plant-based meat kept going up and reached €25,3 million in 2022, a 27% rise from 2020.
Plant-based seafood is one of the least developed groups, but it is also the fastest growing. With sales of €1.7 million in 2022, plant-based seafood is still a small category, but it is growing quickly. Since 2020, it has grown by more than 1,327%.
Between 2020 and 2022, the retail market for plant-based foods in Belgium stayed mostly the same and grew by 1%, to €163.5 million.
The most developed type of plant-based food is plant-based milk. In 2022, however, both the sales value and the number of units sold went down by 1%. This is the same as what happened in the animal-based milk category, where unit sales also went down by 6%.
Sales of plant-based meat kept going up and were worth €54,3 million in 2022, a 4% rise from 2020.
Plant-based seafood is one of the least developed groups, but it is also the fastest growing. With sales of €670,000 in 2022, plant-based seafood is still a very small category, but it is growing quickly. Since 2020, it has grown by more than 37%.
Denmark has one of the highest rates of plant-based food consumption per person in Europe. This is in line with the general sales trend in Denmark, where sales of plant-based foods grew by 17% between 2020 and 2022 to reach 784 million kroner.
The most developed type of plant-based food is plant-based milk. In 2022, sales of plant-based milk were worth €46.5 million (or 346.3 million kroner), and the category continued to grow steadily.
After a drop in 2021, sales of plant-based meat went up to 230.1 million kroner (€30.9 million) in 2022. The value of sales went down in 2021 because the average price per unit of plant-based meat went down by 4%, but the number of units sold only went down by 0.3%.
In 2022, sales of plant-based spreads and meals grew by 34% and 42%, respectively, which is a lot.
The French plant-based food retail market is the fifth biggest in Europe, and sales keep going up. Between 2020 and 2022, sales will grow by 5% to reach €425.7 million.
The most developed plant-based category is plant-based milk, which will bring in €189.8 million in sales in 2022. Sales of plant-based meat kept going up. Between 2020 and 2022, they went up by 17%, to €112.5 million.
Plant-based cheese is one of the least developed but fastest-growing groups. With sales of €7.4 million in 2022, plant-based cheese is still a small category, but it is growing quickly. Since 2020, it has grown by more than 674%.
The German store market for plant-based foods is the biggest in Europe, and sales continue to grow quickly. Between 2020 and 2022, sales will grow by 42%, to €1.91 billion.
The most developed type of plant-based food is plant-based meat. In 2022, sales of plant-based meat were worth €642.8 million, and the category has continued to grow. Sales of plant-based milk keep going up and are expected to reach €552.3 million in 2022, up 43% from 2020.
The retail market for plant-based foods in Italy is the third biggest in Europe, and sales keep going up. Between 2020 and 2022, sales will rise by 21%, to €680.9 million.
The most developed type of plant-based food is plant-based milk. In 2022, sales of plant-based milk were €310,4 million, and the category continued to grow steadily.
Sales of plant-based meat kept going up and reached €168.4 million in 2022, a 40% rise from 2020. In 2022, every category grew. In terms of sales value, the fastest-growing categories in 2022 were plant-based food, plant-based meat, and plant-based ice cream. All of these categories grew by more than 10%.
The categories based on plants grew faster than the categories based on animals. In 2022, sales of plant-based milk, meat, and yoghurt grew faster than sales of animal-based milk, meat, and yoghurt.
The Dutch retail market for plant-based foods is the sixth biggest in Europe, and Dutch people eat the most plant-based foods per person. This is in line with the general sales trend in the Netherlands, where sales of plant-based foods grew by 9% between 2020 and 2022, reaching €441.4 million.
The most developed plant-based category is plant-based meat, but in 2022, the value of plant-based meat sales went down by 4% and the number of sales went down by 5%. This is the same as what happened in the category of animal-based meat, where unit sales also went down by 6%. Sales of plant-based milk kept going up and reached €106,2 million in 2022, which is a 14% rise from 2020.
Plant-based cheese is one of the least developed but fastest-growing groups. With sales of €8.8 million in 2022, plant-based cheese is still a small category, but it is growing quickly. Since 2020, it has grown by more than 60%.
The retail market for plant-based foods in Poland isn’t as developed as it is in some of the other countries looked at, but the data shows that customer demand is growing quickly. Between 2020 and 2022, sales of plant-based foods went up by 109%, to 729 million zloty.
The most developed type of plant-based food is plant-based milk. In 2022, sales of plant-based milk totaled 387.1 million zloty (€82.5 million), and the category continued to grow steadily.
In terms of sales value, the fastest-growing groups in 2022 were plant-based milk, plant-based cheese, plant-based yoghurt, and plant-based desserts. All of these grew by more than 10%.
The retail market for plant-based foods in Portugal is small compared to other places in Europe. But sales data show that customer demand is rising. Between 2020 and 2022, sales of plant-based foods went up by 20%, to €64.7 million.
Plant-based milk is the most developed form. Plant-based milk sales reached €40,4 million in 2022, and the category continued to develop.
From 2020 to 2022, plant-based meat sales increased by 85% to €7.6 million. Plant-based cheese is the fastest-growing but least established group. Plant-based cheese is still a small category, but it is rising swiftly. Over 96% growth since 2020.
The store market for plant-based foods in Romania is the smallest of all the countries that were looked into. But sales data shows that demand is growing quickly. Between 2020 and 2022, sales of plant-based foods grew by 67%, to 163.5 million lei.
The most developed type of plant-based food is plant-based milk. In 2022, sales of plant-based milk were 115.4 million lei (€23.6 million), and the market continued to grow by more than 10%.
Sales of plant-based meat grew quickly and reached €9.8 million (48.1 million lei) in 2022.
The retail market for plant-based foods in Spain is the fourth biggest in Europe, and sales keep going up. Between 2020 and 2022, sales will rise by 9%, to €447.4 million.
The most developed type of plant-based food is plant-based milk. In 2022, sales of plant-based milk were worth €352.8 million, and the market continues to grow steadily.
The amount of sales of plant-based meat dropped to €84.7 million in 2022, even though the category grew by 25% between 2020 and 2022.
The retail market for plant-based foods in Spain is the fourth biggest in Europe, and sales keep going up. Between 2020 and 2022, sales will rise by 9%, to €447.4 million.
The most developed type of plant-based food is plant-based milk. In 2022, sales of plant-based milk were worth €352.8 million, and the market continues to grow steadily.
The amount of sales of plant-based meat dropped to €84.7 million in 2022, even though the category grew by 25% between 2020 and 2022.
The UK’s retail market for plant-based foods is the second biggest in Europe. Between 2020 and 2022, sales of plant-based foods increased by 9%, reaching £963.8 million (€1.08 billion).
The most developed type of plant-based food is plant-based meat. In 2021, sales of plant-based meat per pound went up by 11%, which was a good year. In 2022, however, the value of plant-based meat sales went down by 8%.
Sales of plant-based milk kept going up and reached a total of £276.2 million (€308.7 million) in 2022, up 24% from 2020.
NielsenIQ, a market research company, was hired by GFI Europe to find out how big the retail market for plant-based foods in Europe is. The analysis in this report is based on data from NielsenIQ for the 52-week, 104-week, and 156-week periods ending on December 31, 2022, for the Austrian, Belgian, Danish, French, German, Italian, Netherlands, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, and UK markets, according to the GFI Europe product hierarchy.
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