Dutch consumers, retailers and the government want a more plant-based food system – but taste and price are holding back progress.

The Netherlands is a world leader in support for protein diversification. In 2023, the government set a target for 50% of the nation’s protein consumption to be plant-based by 2030, and the entire supermarket sector has committed to delivering on this goal. But achieving it in practice is so far proving difficult.

Leading retailers including Albert Heijn, Jumbo and Lidl have invested in expanding their private-label plant-based ranges in recent years, and many have introduced offers to incentivise purchases. Aldi claims its plant-based meat prices are equal to or lower than those for the animal-based equivalent, and several retailers have even introduced blended products, combining plant-based ingredients with animal meat.

Yet progress towards the national target appears to have stalled, with plant sources stuck at 39% of protein consumption for the past two years.

Plant-based sales saw ups and downs in 2025

GFI Europe’s latest analysis of Dutch retail sales data shows a mixed picture for plant-based foods. The smallest categories, cheese and cream, saw sales volume grow by 3.6% and 5.1%, respectively, in 2025. This may be thanks to average prices in these categories falling significantly since 2023, with plant-based cream becoming cheaper per kg than dairy cream for the first time last year.

The second largest category by value, plant-based milk and drinks, has stabilised at a relatively high level: almost 9% of all milk sold in the Netherlands was plant-based in 2025. Although sales volume remained level, sales value rose by 4% to €93.5 million, reflecting rising prices that may be holding back further growth.

Plant-based yoghurt sales volume declined by 2.9% in 2025, despite a fall in average prices driven by the expansion of private-label options. This could suggest that these products aren’t yet meeting consumer expectations around taste, texture or functionality – which aligns with US research that found significant room for improvement in the taste of plant-based yoghurt.

Plant-based meat, the largest plant-based category in the Netherlands, had a challenging year in 2025. Sales volume declined by 10.7%, driven by a significant drop in sales of branded products. Private-label options, on the other hand, saw only a slight decline of 2% in sales volume, following a 6.7% increase in 2024. This difference in performance reflects diverging prices – with private-label products becoming cheaper over time, while branded prices continued to increase.

In contrast, the combined sales volume of tofu, tempeh and seitan grew by an impressive 27.1% in 2025. Private-label tofu represents a particularly affordable option, at just €5.11 per kg, while branded plant-based meat costs three times more, at €15.91 per kg.

Despite this price gap, Dutch consumers bought 3.6 times more plant-based meat than tofu, tempeh and seitan combined in 2025 – demonstrating that products that replicate the taste, texture or format of conventional meat reach a wider audience.

Separate figures from Euromonitor show that sales of animal meat per person in the Netherlands reached their lowest point in 15 years in 2025, falling to 50.9 kg per person from 60.7 kg per person in 2011. This shift may not yet have translated into growth for the plant-based sector – but it is an important step towards protein diversification that will help the country to reach its aims of reducing climate emissions, strengthening food security and protecting public health.

Why ambition isn’t translating into action

It’s clear that Dutch consumers are open to diversifying their diets. Wageningen University & Research’s Protein Monitor report found consumers’ intent to eat more plant-based meat, plant-based dairy, tofu and legumes increased in 2025. But, with plant-based options representing less than 10% of the overall meat and dairy markets last year, something appears to be preventing people from acting on their intentions. 

Separate research shows that, when it comes to their everyday food choices, taste and price are the most important factors for European consumers – and our analysis suggests existing plant-based products aren’t meeting those needs.

The retail sales data does demonstrate that progress on price can positively impact sales. In 2025, lower-cost private-label options saw sales volume grow by 12%, while more expensive branded products experienced a 12% decline.

But price isn’t everything. The plant-based categories that have seen the most innovation on taste and texture in recent years – meat and milk – remain the largest by a significant margin. Yet taste tests in the United States found that consumers rated just 20 out of 122 plant-based meat products as “the same or better” than their animal-based equivalents in 2025. This demonstrates that taste parity is possible – but it requires investment in research and development. For the plant-based dairy categories, US taste tests identified a need for significant improvement if they are to appeal to mainstream consumers.

As long as plant-based options represent a compromise on the day-to-day cost and experience of eating, the Netherlands’ world-leading protein diversification target will remain out of reach. To build a more sustainable and resilient food system, policymakers, researchers, food producers and retailers must continue to invest in improving the taste and reducing the cost of plant-based foods.

Overview of plant-based food sales by category in the Netherlands, 2023-2025

	Sales value			Unit sales			Sales volume
	2025, € million	2024-25 change	2023-25 change	2025, million units	2024-25 change	2023-25 change	2025, million kg	2024-25 change	2023-25 change
Meat	108.1	-10.5%	-17.4%	41.0	-12.1%	-19.0%	8.0	-10.7%	-16.7%
Milk and drinks	93.5	4.0%	-0.3%	49.0	2.3%	-1.9%	46.6	0.7%	-3.8%
Cheese	10.6	0.4%	-7.2%	4.9	2.2%	-0.7%	0.9	3.6%	1.1%
Yoghurt	41.7	-4.6%	-7.2%	21.7	-3.8%	3.8%	12.2	-2.9%	2.1%
Cream	5.5	0.1%	2.6%	4.1	4.0%	4.4%	0.9	5.1%	6.2%
Total	259.4	-4.1%	-9.4%	120.8	-4.1%	-7.4%	68.7	-1.3%	-4.4%
Bonus data on additional products that are not counted towards the plant-based total
Tofu, tempeh and seitan	13.7	27.3%	41.3%	6.9	26.0%	35.8%	2.2	27.1%	34.9%