Following several years of decline, signs suggest that plant-based meat may be making a comeback.
The rise and fall of plant-based
While figures from 2025 indicated significant interest in going vegan, data from NIQ painted a very different picture, with sales of chilled and frozen meat alternatives plummeting by 21% in the 12 months to June 2024 compared with the same period two years prior.
A series of high-profile closures across the plant-based sector appeared to reaffirm the category’s inevitable end in the UK.
The plant-based plateau was, perhaps, an unsurprising turn of events following such an explosive reaction. Consolidation was necessary as the sector worked out the kinks – i.e. taste and marketing.
However, concerns around ultra processed foods (UPFs) proved harmful to the category, with many (fairly or not) calling out plant-based products for their long, unfamiliar ingredients lists and thus shifting consumers back meat.
What’s driving the plant-based revival?
NIQ data shows a revival in plant-based, with overall sales of chilled plant-based food in UK supermarkets growing by just under one percent, year-on-year, and by 1.7 % in the last 12 weeks of 2025.
Signs of a return to fortune in the UK have been hovering in the background for sometime, with the underlying drivers of plant-based retaining their relevance despite waning interest (e.g. environmental concerns).
Yet, it appears to be health that has finally pushed the category back into growth for the first time in years. How ironic, considering the aforementioned UPF concerns.
Demand for more foods such as chickpeas, tempeh and tofu have seen rapid growth, as consumers look for natural options that are rich in protein and fibre. But, interestingly, growth is also being witnessed across other plant-based products such as mince and snacks.
Earlier this year, Tesco said it was noticing a change; reporting that plant-based mince demand had climbed by nearly quarter in the last year; while snacking items such as falafels, picnic eggs and mini sausages, saw a more than 5% upward shift.
“We are beginning to see the green shoots of recovery across the UK’s plant-based food sector, as a growing number of shoppers place long-term health and wellbeing at the centre of their food choices,” said Tesco plant-based food buyer Bethan Jones.
A vote of confidence
Now the retailer has strengthened its offering, rolling out two premium plant-based frozen products from Redefine Meat.
Redefine’s Premium Burgers and Lamb Kofta Mix will be available in 391 stores and online at Tesco.com from 7 September.
The move follows strong retail momentum for Redefine Meat in the UK, which was originally developed for chefs and professional kitchens.
Since securing its first national supermarket listing with seven SKUs in Asda in October 2025, the brand has continued to perform strongly, delivering 31% year-on-year volume growth on Ocado and ranking as the retailer’s second biggest contributor to frozen vegetarian category growth, behind only Quorn.
The quality challenge
Redefine has worked to maintain restaurant-quality with its retail offering, tapping into the growing demand for premium products and convenience.
While the burgers can be used to create a fakeaway or for BBQs, its Lamb Kofta Mix is designed to offer increased versatility compared to traditional ready-formed products; allowing shoppers to prepare koftas, kebabs, shepherd’s pie, meatballs and smash burgers.
But the business has also been focused on addressing plant-based’s arch enemy - taste.
Taste has always been the biggest challenge for plant-based meat.
Edwin Bark, SVP EMEA, Redefine Meat
“Consumers might try a product because of its sustainability credentials, nutritional profile or simply curiosity, but if the eating experience isn’t good enough, they won’t come back. Worse still, a disappointing experience can affect their perception of the whole category,” Edwin Bark, SVP EMEA at Redefine Meat told Food Manufacture.
“For us, repeat purchase is the real measure of whether a product has succeeded, not simply getting someone to try it once.
“That’s why we’ve always approached the challenge from a food-first perspective. Rather than asking how we can make a great plant-based burger, we look at what makes meat enjoyable in the first place - the flavour, texture, juiciness and the way it behaves when you cook it - and work backwards from there.
“That has meant looking beyond flavouring alone and understanding how proteins, fats and other ingredients interact during cooking to recreate the structural changes, browning and release of flavour that consumers associate with meat.
“It’s also why chefs have played such an important role in our product development. Ultimately, plant-based meat has to be able to compete with traditional meat on the plate, not simply offer an alternative to it.”
The products also play to the cues that are driving plant-based growth; being high in protein, a source of fibre, and containing no preservatives.
Can plant-based overcome the UPF backlash?
When the UPF conversation first hit mainstream media, rightly or wrongly, many were quick to link them to plant-based meat.
Commenting on the category’s previous connection to UPFs, Bark said the messaging around processing far less less black and white than consumers have been led to believe.
“Consumers are being presented with a very simple message that processing equals unhealthy, when the reality of food and nutrition is much more nuanced.”
However, he added that the business is working to make its products “simpler while maintaining the eating experience people expect”.
He continued: “We also believe brands have a responsibility to be transparent about what goes into their food and why. Rather than avoiding the UPF conversation, we want to help consumers understand our ingredients, how our products are made and their nutritional value, so they can make an informed decision about what works for their diet.
“For Redefine Meat, that means products with no preservatives or GMOs that are high in protein, a source of fibre, and fortified with vitamins B3, B6 and B12, iron and zinc - important nutrients commonly found in meat.”
An opportunity for plant-based
Redefine Meat has spied an opportunity here that other plant-based brands would do well to follow - optimisation.
As Food Manufacture reported earlier this year, a study London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that, on average, plant-based meat contains more fibre and less saturated fat than conventional meat.
However, it also revealed that while fortifying plant-based meat and dairy with essential vitamins and minerals could enable products to match the micronutrient levels of animal foods, producers are inconsistent over how much they do this. This results in varied nutritional quality across products.
If producers fortify products with micronutrients commonly found in conventional meat and dairy, while also leveraging on their fibre levels, they could be onto a real winner.