Vegan, Vegetarian, and Flexitarian Consumers, 2nd Edition

Increasing concerns about health, animal welfare, and the environment are causing more consumers to turn to plant-forward diets. Some consumers are abstaining from animal products by going vegan or vegetarian, but many more are simply reducing consumption of animal products with a flexitarian or semi-vegetarian diet.

The pandemic has expanded interest in healthy eating and lifestyles, and in turn led to growing awareness of plant-based eating. Additionally, Inflation and supply issues causing high meat and dairy prices make flexitarian or semi-vegetarian diets more appealing.

With a focus on “what’s next” and current consumer trends, Vegan, Vegetarian, and Flexitarian Consumers is packed with insights about consumer trends, behavior, and motivations to help foodservice operators, food producers, retailers, packaging companies, employers, and investors gauge consumer perspectives and find areas for growth in a competitive market.

Vegan, Vegetarian, and Flexitarian Consumers delivers actionable predictions and recommendations designed to guide foodservice operators, producers, retailers, and investors in making business decisions by providing data and insights about consumer behavior and what consumers think about foods and beverages and delivery and carryout.

Scope

Vegan, Vegetarian, and Flexitarian Consumers is the go-to source for a complete understanding of U.S. consumer trends regarding plant-based and plant-forward eating. This report combines Packaged Facts’ extensive monitoring of the food and beverage market with proprietary surveys, and evaluates current trends and future directions for plant-based marketing and retailing, along with consumer patterns during the pandemic and across the broader food and beverage market.

This Packaged Facts report analyzes the dynamics of the current landscape of plant-based and plant-forward diets and eating philosophies. Demographics, preferences, and psychographics of vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians, and flexitarians are examined alongside those of omnivores. Trends including consumer usage of plant-based alternative products, reasons for diet and lifestyle choices, retail and restaurant trends, and the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on consumers are also investigated.

The reasons for, and implications of, shifts in consumer perception and behavior are analyzed in the context of present and future market opportunities.

This report also features outlooks for foods relevant to plant-based eating. This includes:

• the size of the plant-based food market (plant-based meals and alternatives to meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, and eggs) in 2021
• historical numbers and forecasts for consumption and production of fresh produce in dollars and pounds
• discussion of per capita meat consumption
• historical numbers and forecasts for dairy, meat, poultry, and seafood shipments in dollars and inflation-adjusted dollars

The reasons for, and implications of, shifts in consumer perception and behavior are analyzed in the context of present and future market opportunities.

Additionally, Vegan, Vegetarian, and Flexitarian Consumers has dozens of tables showcasing numerical survey data on consumer demographics and psychographics and numerous marketing photographs. This report goes in-depth on COVID-19 trends affecting the food and beverage market.

Report Methodology

The information contained in Vegan, Vegetarian, and Flexitarian Consumers was developed from primary and secondary research sources. Primary research includes interviews with food and beverage market experts; participation in and attendance at food industry events; and extensive internet canvassing.

Primary research also includes national online consumer polls of U.S. adult consumers (age 18+) conducted on an ongoing basis by Packaged Facts to analyze attitudes of consumers and their relevant food and beverage preferences. Survey data from MRI-Simmons are used to analyze the demographics and psychographics of consumers.

Supplementing Packaged Facts’ exclusive survey is analysis of the 2022 Food & Health Survey conducted by the International Food Information Council, which analyzes consumer food purchase decisions, diet and lifestyle choices, snacking activity, and perception of health benefits in foods.