The Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) recently published data relating to sales of alt-meat. Value increased by 45 percent from 2019 to $1.4 billion in 2020. The PBFA maintains that plant based meat represents 2.7 percent of retail packaged meat, but this figure ignores the consumption of food service. It is claimed that 22 million households purchase plant-based meat without an indication of the frequency of repeat buying. Although comparisons of growth rates for alt-meat appear exceptional when compared to conventional meat, the low base of a relatively immature product should be recognized.
The release from the PBFA notes the number of producing companies and their activities suggesting extreme competition. This is probably the justification for successive price cuts by Impossible Foods to levels which still exceed ground beef and in some stores by a factor of two. It is a matter of record that the bellwether alt-meat producers, including the Maple Leaf Foods and Beyond Meat are historically and currently non-profitable and the alt-meat industry is heavily subsidized by infusion of venture capital.
Despite the claims of equivalent organoleptic properties including taste, texture, and color compared to store-purchased ground beef patties and sausages, the real criterion is whether consumers can differentiate between alt-meat and real meat when cooked. Given quality issues, availability, and above all relative cost, future growth rates will be a more reliable indicator of the acceptance of alt-meat beyond the demographic of vegetarians, curious omnivores and those with extreme environmental and sustainability concerns.