Is meat consumption still declining?

Meat has been a staple food of human beings since there were human beings. However, with its links to climate change and animal welfare concerns, many see its consumption as something that should be phased out.

The rise of the plant-based meat market has seen many turn to replacements and alternatives, cutting down consumption of the real thing.

But with plant-based meat itself experiencing difficulties in recent years, is meat consumption really still in decline?

Appetite for cutting down on meat grinds to a halt in the UKThe share of consumers in the UK replacing meat-based meals with plant-based options has started to decline.

According to data from Nielsen IQ (NIQ), the share of consumers replacing meat with non-meat options at least once a week has been growing steadily for the past few years, moving from 27% in 2020 to 39% in 2023. However, this declined by 1% in 2024, back to 38%.

NIQ’s data shows that the popularity of both fresh and frozen meat substitutes is in fact declining, while fresh poultry is experiencing a rapid expansion in popularity.

Such a decline could be linked to cost-of-living pressures. “Meat-free alternative products can sometimes be perceived as more expensive, and this could be a reason for the meat-free category experiencing a reduction of £37.1m (€42.9m) in sales,“ explains Katrina Bishop, UK thought leadership activation manager at NIQ.

“But this in no way means that those that have adopted a vegan or vegetarian diet aren’t doing so anymore.”

Meat decline continues in Germany Meat remains an integral part of German culture, according to market insights company Mintel. 83% of Germans continue to consume meat and poultry. But unlike in the UK, actual consumption is on the decline, at least for the time being.

The most significant declines have been seen in beef and veal. The per capita consumption of both fell by 5% in 2023.

While Brits are inspired to cut down on meat-free alternatives due to cost pressures, in Germany, people are cutting down on meat itself for the same reason. According to Mintel, 40% of Germans believe eating less meat is a good way to save money, as of December 2022.

The decline of meat consumption in Germany is seen in contrast with the increase in popularity of high-protein products, and the rise of high-protein claims. However, according to Mintel, the high-protein trend isn’t as popular in Germany, relative to the US.

Overall, however, processed meat consumption is falling in Germany. Volume sales declined by 1.3% in 2023, and this decline is forecast to continue.

Consumers are returning to meat through hybrid productsConsumption may be declining in some markets, but animal-based foods are returning in new ways.

For example, the hybrid meat market (meat combined with meat substitutes, in a hybrid product) is emerging, with major plant-based meat producers such as Impossible Foods floating the possibility of releasing their own hybrid products.

The concept of hybrid has been tried before – Brewdog and Tyson Foods have released hybrid products – but Impossible Foods would be one of the biggest players to embrace the idea.