Between 2024-2025, plant-based food and drink grew 5.1% year-on-year across six European countries – UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands.
However, it still represents just 2.4% of total food and drink markets, demonstrating a gap between consumer appeal and true market scale.
What’s driving demand for plant-based?
Growth is being driven by everyday consumption as opposed to niche alternatives, with nuts and seeds leading the charge - accounting for almost half of plant-based value sales (45%). This is followed by dairy alternatives (21%) and ready-meals (15%), while meat and seafood alternatives represent a much more modest 4%.
Demand is coming from the flexitarian market rather than historical plant-based shoppers. While around 11% of Europeans identify as vegan or vegetarian, ‘flexitarianism’ has grown by 10 percentage points since 2023, now accounting for 31% of Europeans.
At the same time, plant-based products are outperforming its animal-based counterparts in key segments such as dairy and ready meals, despite hefty price tags.
A mixed picture across Europe
However, growth across Europe is mixed. Germany is seeing the most uptake in alternatives, with value sales up 7.2% and volume rising 4.2% year-on-year, while Spain has seen 7.5% value growth.
Conversely, the UK – one of the largest markets at €4.5bn – is showing stagnation, with volume declining by 0.7%.
The next phase of plant-based
Circana says the divergence highlights the growing importance of execution, pricing and relevance in driving category performance.
It adds that opportunity for plant-based lies in health, nutrition and value, with shoppers looking for meat alternatives that deliver ‘real’ benefits, such as protein, energy and gut health.
At the same time, producers and brands will need to be mindful of the impact of GLP-1 which are reshaping how and what people, as they move to smaller, more ‘nutrient dense’ meals.
While this data shows promise for the plant-based category, price differences remain a key barrier and greater affordability will be required to unlock wider adoption.
“Plant-based food and drinks have reached a pivotal moment. The foundations for growth are firmly in place, but the next phase will not be driven by hype or novelty. It will be driven by how effectively the industry delivers products that fit into everyday consumer behaviour,” said Circana’s Ananda Roy, SVP global thought leadership and consumer goods advisor for Europe.
“We are seeing a clear shift away from niche, imitation-led innovation towards more natural, functional and accessible products. The winners will be those who can close the gap between taste, nutrition and price, and integrate plant-based seamlessly into everyday consumption occasions.”
How producers can tap into plant-based opportunities
To unlock the next phase of growth of plant-based food and drink products, Circana highlights several priorities for FMCG retailers and manufacturers:
- Focus on taste-led innovation that encourages repeat purchases
- Improve price competitiveness to drive mainstream adoption
- Ensure products deliver clear, credible nutritional and functional benefits
- Go beyond substitutes, expanding into broader plant-based alternatives that stand on their own
- Integrate plant-based into core category strategies rather than isolating it
