NPD found that plant-based hamburgers are largely responsible for the increase in Americans’ consumption of plant-based proteins at restaurants, with nearly 80 percent of that growth coming from Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat. Aside from burgers, sales of plant-based versions of wings, sausage and meatballs have risen by double digits over the past year — and sales of plant-based Italian sausage have skyrocketed by 416 percent in that time.
NPD found that 16 percent of Americans say they “regularly” use plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy products, such as almond milk and meat substitutes. More unexpected, though, is that 89 percent of the people eating all of these tell NPD that they’re not vegetarian or vegan — they just like variety in their diets.
I can’t find out how large this study was, but I’m delighted that 89 percent of those sales aren’t vegan or vegetarian. When Ethan Brown called the vegan section the “penalty box” he was right. I think their placement next to actual beef has been important, simply because it makes it easier to pick-up. Otherwise, that’s one more thing to remember and one more section of the grocery store to walk to.
And I’m glad it’s mostly Impossible and Beyond. Those are two of the best vegan products out there, and are definitely some of the first products I hope non-vegans try when they’re taking baby bites in this new realm.