Plant-based foods are now in 53% of households and that trend will continue to grow.
Those are among the conclusions of new IRI data on plant-based foods. While every generation purchases plant-based food items, the consumers most likely to buy these foods currently are millennials, those with higher incomes and acculturated Hispanic households, according to IRI.
“Carl’s Jr. set the food industry abuzz in January when it announced that it would be rolling out the plant-based Beyond Meat patty in 1,100 of its stores,” IRI’s John Crawford and Tim Grzebinski say in a blog post announcing the research. “As with other, more mainstream adoptions of plant-based foods, the category has come a long way in the past few years due to the growing focus on higher-protein diets, celebrity adoption and social media, which has helped drive awareness of new food options among the public as more people become interested in health and wellness.”
Although there are only about 8 million vegetarians in the U.S. currently, research from Mintel’s “Better for You Eating Trend survey from August 2018 shows that 60% of Americans are interested in consuming less meat, 31% are choosing to have meat-free days, and one-third plan to buy more plant-based foods, say Crawford and Grzebinski. Weight management and health are the two big motivators.