European consumer insights on the alternative protein sector
What do European consumers think about plant-based, cultivated and fermentation-made proteins? This page summarises some of the key consumer insights available from open-access research on the European alternative protein market.
Last updated: 02 July 2024
This page focuses on studies that cover multiple European countries. There is also a wealth of open-access consumer research on alternative proteins covering just one or two countries. You can find these publications in our searchable, regularly updated European consumer research database at the bottom of this page.
The wider context: top-line consumer insights
Representative surveys commissioned by GFI Europe of consumers across 15 European countries by YouGov in February-April 2024 found that the majority of people in all but two countries thought that meat consumption in their nation was too high.
Proportion of people per country that agree with the statement ‘The amount of meat that we eat on average in my country is much/slightly too high.‘
On top of this, most European consumers are seeking alternatives to animal products. In 2023, 51% of consumers across 10 European countries reported having reduced their meat consumption relative to the previous year.
This is an increase from 46% of consumers from the same survey in 2021, which found meat reduction is most widespread in Italy (59% of consumers), Germany (59%) and France (57%).
By far the most common motivating factor for reducing meat consumption is health (cited by 47% of meat reducers), followed by animal welfare (29%) and the environment (26%).
Meat-reducing diets are widespread
In 2023, 62% of European consumers across ten countries identifed as omnivores, 27% as flexitarians, 4% as pescatarian, 5% as vegetarian and 3% as vegan.
In two of the countries surveyed – Germany and Austria – the majority of people follow some form of meat-reducing diet.
Omnivore was defined in the survey as “I frequently eat meat (such as beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish and/or shellfish)”. “Flexitarian” was defined as “I sometimes eat meat, but I am trying to reduce my meat consumption and often choose plant-based foods instead”.
European consumers are familiar with alternative proteins
Consumers surveyed in the Smart Protein Project across four Western European countries reported high levels of familiarity with alternative proteins: in 2022, 83% of UK consumers knew at least one alternative protein product category, with the figures being 77% in Spain, 70% in Germany and 62% in France.
Meat consumption nevertheless remains high
Despite the familiarity of Europeans with alternative proteins and the significant proportion pursuing some degree of meat reduction in their diets, overall supplies of meat across Europe have remained steady over the past decade. While there has been a slight shift away from red meat towards poultry, the overall supply of meat remains approximately 77 kg per person per year.
For context, one recommendation of healthy, sustainable levels of meat consumption comes from the EAT-Lancet Commission, which advised the consumption of up to 15.7kg of meat per person per year. This suggests that there is significant room for reducing meat consumption in Europe.
Plant-based
Consumers surveyed across four Western European countries reported high levels of familiarity with alternative proteins: in 2022, 83% of UK consumers knew at least one alternative protein product category, with the figures being 77% in Spain, 70% in Germany and 62% in France.
The European plant-based market grew in 2022
Retail sales of plant-based meat, seafood and dairy across 13 European countries grew 6% between 2021 and 2022, reaching €5.8 billion. This figure is based on retail scanner data provided by NielsenIQ.
Multiple data sources suggest that many European countries were still experiencing growth in the sales of plant-based meat & seafood and plant-based dairy in 2022. The graphs below show 2022 market size and percentage growth between 2021 and 2022 for selected European countries. Note that the data from NielsenIQ is based on retail scanner data, while the Euromonitor data uses a combination of trade sources, store checks and national statistics as well as different definitions of the plant-based category. The two data sources are therefore not directly comparable.
European consumers regularly eat plant-based foods
A substantial minority of European consumers reported eating plant-based dairy and meat products at least once a week in 2023. Note that this is based on self-reported consumption levels rather than direct measurement of the frequency at which each food is eaten.
In 2022, only single-digit percentages of consumers across four Western European countries reported exclusively consuming alternative proteins (as opposed to the animal-based equivalents): 5% in Germany, 4% in the UK, 3% in France and 2% in Spain.
However, much larger proportions reported either mostly consuming alternative proteins or balancing them evenly with conventional proteins: 30% in Spain, 25% in Germany, 23% in the UK and 22% in France.
Flexitarians are important: most people who consume alternative proteins also consume conventional proteins
Drivers: taste is key
When considering whether to buy a plant-based product, the top factors cited by European consumers in 2023 were taste (53%), health (46%) and affordability (45%).
Interestingly, although animal welfare is the second most cited reason for reducing meat consumption, it is only the tenth most cited factor when choosing plant-based foods. Similarly, although the environment is the third strongest reason for meat reduction, it is only the seventh most cited factor in choosing plant-based.
The one factor that is both a strong reason for meat reduction and also a top consideration in choosing plant-based is health.
This finding is backed up by a 2022 study, which found that health is the top motivator for consuming alternative proteins in the UK, Spain, Germany and France, followed by animal welfare and environmental impact.
The same study found that taste, nutritional value (eg macronutrient profile) and health (eg avoidance of antibiotics) were the most important criteria for consumers when buying alternative proteins.
Note, however, that these results are based on survey data. The value-action gap means that surveys do not always reflect real-world purchasing behaviour.
Barriers: price is a concern
The top barriers to European consumers choosing plant-based products are concerns about plant-based foods being too expensive (38%) or not tasty enough (30%), as well as a need for more information about plant-based alternatives (25%). In fourth place, 24% of respondents claimed they would worry about their health if they were to exclusively consume plant-based alternatives.
Check out our report Plant-based meat and health in Europe for further details on the nutritional characteristics of plant-based meat.
Taste, health and price are important to European consumers. Many people want more information about plant-based products.
Different consumer groups require different strategies
The top drivers and barriers regarding plant-based food depend on dietary habits (eg omnivore, flexitarian), demographic groups (eg age) and country.
For example, those who frequently eat meat are more likely to cite poor taste as their top barrier to choosing plant-based foods than flexitarians (who sometimes eat meat but are trying to reduce their intake) are, while flexitarians are more deterred by price.
There are similarities between groups in some cases. For example, the proportion of people who are flexitarian is fairly uniform across the generations, ranging from 26% (Gen Z) to 29% (Baby boomers).
With drivers for choosing plant-based foods, the country with the highest levels of importance placed on both taste and affordability is the UK (and Italy the lowest). The country most driven by health is Romania (and France the least). The countries most driven by freshness are Romania and Poland (with the UK the least).
A range of marketing strategies for plant-based products are needed to reach diverse consumer archetypes: each demographic group has different priorities.
Trust in plant-based food is growing
46% of European consumers report that they trust plant-based food significantly or somewhat more than they did three years ago, while only 13% trust plant-based food significantly or somewhat less over the same period. Italy shows the greatest increase in trust (with 58% of people trusting plant-based foods significantly or somewhat more than three years ago), followed by Denmark (50%) and the UK (49%).
A majority of European consumers believe that plant-based foods are safe, accurately labelled, reliable and of high quality.
Cultivated meat
Consumer attitudes to cultivated meat vary by country and appear to be changing over time. Representative surveys of consumers across conducted by YouGov in February – April 2024 , commissioned by GFI Europe, found that a significant proportion of people in Portugal (60%), Czechia (59%), Sweden (55%), Denmark (55%), Germany (47%) and Austria (42%) would try cultivated meat.
Imagery, framing and messaging can be influential
How cultivated meat is framed, the imagery of it that is used, and the ways in which its benefits are explained can all affect the perceptions of consumers. With only Singapore and the United States having so far approved cultivated meat for sale, and with accessibility extremely limited even there, people must form their opinions based on media depictions rather than first-hand experience.
A study of UK consumers published in 2023 tested three different ways of framing information about cultivated meat. It found that a “consumption frame” generally had the most positive influence on consumers’ perceptions. Here, the description of cultivated meat focused on its taste, the varieties that might be available, and how it can be bought and cooked. A “production” frame describing how cultivated meat is made scored the lowest, and an “alternative food” frame focused on new types of foods had intermediate scores.
Imagery has also been found to have an effect. A study of UK consumers conducted in 2021 found that people shown food-based images of cultivated meat (meat products being served or prepared) were more likely to rate it as appealing, tasty, nutritious and affordable than those shown laboratory-based images (Petri dishes and blue gloves). However, other studies show less conclusive results
Food-based imagery of cultivated meat products is seen as more appealing than Petri dishes and blue gloves.
GFI’s cultivated meat image library
GFI maintains a collection of images of cultivated meat and seafood products. Read more about the project here and view the images below.
Fermentation
Fermentation covers both biomass fermentation (where the whole cell of microorganisms such as fungi or algae is used as a food ingredient) and precision fermentation (where proteins identical to those from animals, such as whey or casein, are produced using microorganisms such as yeast).
Mycoprotein-based biomass fermentation products (made from fungi), such as Quorn, have been available to European consumers for a few decades. Precision fermentation has also been used for decades to produce ingredients like citric acid, as well as vegetarian rennet for cheesemaking – but its use in alternative proteins is new, and animal-free meat, eggs and dairy made using precision fermentation are not yet available on the European market.
Compared to the plant-based and cultivated fields, there is relatively little open-access research on consumer attitudes towards fermentation-made foods.
Health, nutrition and safety are top drivers for mycoprotein
According to a 2018-19 study of consumers in 12 countries, including France, the UK, the Netherlands and Spain, the strongest driver of willingness to consume mycoprotein is health. Namely, participants were more likely to be willing to consume mycoprotein if they believed it to be healthy. Other important drivers were nutritional benefits, mycoprotein being safe to eat, and sustainability. When looking at which groups found which benefits most compelling, men and omnivores were most strongly driven by health, women by nutritional benefits and flexitarians and vegetarians by safety.
Many consumers are still unfamiliar with yeast and microalgae as food
A study conducted in 2021 across seven European countries (Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the UK) showed that most consumers have either positive or neutral attitudes towards the general concept of producing protein via yeast or microalgae, with only 10-20% having negative views. Many consumers did not yet know enough about the concepts to have either a positive or negative opinion. Environmental sustainability was the top perceived benefit of these novel protein sources.
Attitudes to yeast were most positive in Iceland and most negative in Italy. For microalgae, Iceland is again most favourable while the UK has the most negative attitudes.
Consumers are open to trying precision fermentation eggs and dairy
According to a study conducted in 2023 by academics and German precision fermentation startup Formo, the majority of German consumers would be willing to try or buy a precision fermentation egg product, with 34% willing to regularly purchase it. There could also be a significant foodservice market for precision fermentation egg, with 55% of respondents being willing to order it from a restaurant and 45% being willing to visit a restaurant where they could choose between conventional or precision fermentation egg.
Even greater enthusiasm was found for precision fermentation dairy. According to a 2020 study also co-authored by Formo, the majority of consumers in Germany and the UK are willing to try or buy precision fermentation cheese (described to participants as animal-free dairy cheese), with over a third being willing to regularly buy it. Enthusiasm was slightly greater in Germany than in the UK. Study respondents perceived animal-free dairy cheese as being more ethical and more environmentally friendly than premium dairy cheese, basic dairy cheese or nut-based vegan cheese.
A 2021 series of focus groups with potential early adopters (ie people identified as generally having favourable attitudes to trying new foods and holding positive views towards technology), including participants from Germany and the UK (as well as the US and Singapore), indicated that this subset of consumers is generally cautiously open to the idea of dairy from precision fermentation. Strong opposition and strong enthusiasm were both rare.
Since many people don’t yet understand the precision fermentation process, educating consumers is important.
Further resources on European consumers
Open access literature on consumer insights
Below is a repository of published, open access research into consumer insights.
Know of more open access consumer insights to add to this? Submit them here!
Europe sales data 2020-2022
Our analysis of Nielsen IQ data across 13 European countries shows sales of plant-based foods grew by 21% between 2020 and 2022 to reach a record €5.8 billion. Explore the data with breakdowns by country and category. Explore the data here.