Affordable products driving plant-based retail sales growth

Double-digit growth of more affordable own-brand products has driven an increase in plant-based retail sales across four European countries.

Nonprofit and think tank the Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) analysed previously unpublished Circana retail sales data to find that a rise in private-label products, which are generally cheaper by weight than branded items, was linked to growing overall sales volumes in France, Germany, Italy and Spain between 2022 and 2024.

These more affordable choices are enabling plant-based foods to become mainstream. Separate household panel data from NIQ Homescan reveal that 46% of households in Spain, 37% in Germany and 32% in the UK bought plant-based milk at least once last year. In the same period, more than a fifth of Spanish households and nearly a third in Germany and the UK bought plant-based meat.

With more affordable options becoming available, nearly 10% of all milk sold in Spain was plant-based in 2024. In Germany, private-label products helped the category move closer to price parity with conventional milk.

The reports, published weeks after polling revealed four in 10 German and UK adults intend to eat more plant-based foods, find that between 2022 and 2024: 

• The sales volume of private-label products grew by 41.4% in Germany – the largest plant-based market in Europe – while branded sales volume fell by 8.3%. Private-label options helped the market across six plant-based categories to grow by 6.8% to €1.68 billion.
• The trend was repeated in France, where private-label products grew 21.6% in volume, while branded products fell 1.2%. This helped push the market across five plant-based categories up 20.5% to €537 million.
• The growth of private-label products in Italy – up 17.4% in sales volume compared to a 1.5% dip in branded options – led to the market across five plant-based food categories expanding 16.4% to €639 million.
• Private-label sales volume grew 32.3% in Spain, where the market across four plant-based categories increased by 14.4% to €491 million.

The Netherlands experienced an overall dip in sales, but plant-based meat options that consumers can add to existing recipes (such as mince and strips) showed relative resilience, potentially because of their affordability and versatility.

In the UK, where overall plant-based sales have also fallen, innovative new products were more resilient than cheaper private-label plant-based options. While sales of both plant-based meat and vegetable-based options like bean burgers fell, a number of innovative premium plant-based meat brands continued to see strong growth. 

UK consumers bought 35.8 million kg of plant-based meat in 2024, compared to just 11.9 million kg of tofu, tempeh, seitan and vegetable-based products (such as bean burgers) combined – demonstrating the much broader appeal of options that replicate the taste and texture of meat.

Across some countries, sales of branded products also drove the success of smaller categories such as plant-based cheese and seafood.

This suggests that in smaller categories and more established markets, factors such as taste and perceived quality may be the key drivers of sales among existing consumers. But improving taste and achieving the scale needed to bring prices down will be essential to tap into a broader market.

Helen Breewood, Senior Market and Consumer Insights Manager at GFI Europe said: “It’s great to see that Europe’s plant-based retail market remains resilient, with increasing sales volumes across four major countries last year. These foods are becoming ever more mainstream as retailers invest in more affordable products.

“However, the ongoing success of more expensive products in some categories shows that price is not the only factor. There is a huge potential market for sustainable and healthy plant-based foods, and companies have a real opportunity to reach more people by developing tastier, nutritious and affordable products that can fit into their lifestyles.”