The alternative meat market in US was worth $1.3 billion in 2020, but it’s now valued at $1.1 billion. While 2024 profits outperformed pre-pandemic numbers, the slump in sales is troubling for the plant-based industry. Though meat substitutes have taken a hit across the board, some plant-based products are bearing the brunt – particularly refrigerated chicken nuggets, which experienced a sharp decline of 56.2% in 2024 – but why? Total alt-meat sales were down 11.5% in 2024, but the declines impacted the fresh and frozen categories very differently. While frozen sales decreased by 8%, the sales of fresh, refrigerated items dropped a whopping 17.3%. According to Circana’s Current State of Meat Alternatives report, frozen plant-based products accounted for 70% of the U.S. alternative meat market share. While 63% of fresh meat alternative buyers also buy frozen items, only 36% of frozen shoppers also buy fresh…… Read
Download the Circana report on Alt-meat market.., pdf….. Read