New data from the Plant-Based Foods Association (PBFA) and SPINS shows that US retail sales of plant-based meat, cheese, tofu, and tempeh outpaced total food retail sales for the 16 weeks ending April 19, 2020.
The plant-based foods industry is seeing tremendous growth in the United States, with sales up 20% in dollar sales since last year. According to data PBFA commissioned from Nielsen, a leading retail data company, plant-based food sales topped $3.3 billion over the past year.
Since PBFA released Nielsen retail sales data last year, the growth of plant-based sales has more than doubled.
This growth is significant, especially compared to the sales of all foods, which grew just 2%, so plant-based foods dollar sales are outpacing dollar sales of all retail foods by 10X.
Plant-based dairy alternatives are an explosive-growing category, with 50% growth. This category includes plant-based cheeses, creamers, butter, yogurts, and ice creams (but not plant-based milk). Plant-based milk now represents 15% of the total milk market.
The plant-based food industry is booming. This is exciting news for a growing industry and the millions of consumers who are enjoying the wide variety of great-tasting plant-based foods. And these foods are not just for vegetarians or vegans anymore; now mainstream consumers are also enjoying these delicious and innovative options.
In particular, sales of three plant-based dairy alternatives are growing at particularly very rates:
- Plant-based cheeses grew an impressive 43%, with $124 million in sales.
- Plant-based yogurts grew 55% with sales at $162 million.
- Plant-based creamers grew at an incredible 131% over last year.
