The plant-based industry spans foods, meat alternatives, and protein ingredients—from global shelves to US retail. Across the page, you’ll explore consumer adoption (like weekly buying and switches from meat), product and launch momentum, and retail growth. We also connect competitiveness to inputs such as soy and pea prices, plus environmental findings on greenhouse-gas and water use from life-cycle research.
Key Takeaways
- $74.2 billion global plant-based food market size in 2024
- $19.8 billion global plant-based meat market size in 2024
- Global plant-based protein ingredients market size was $8.9 billion in 2023
- 29% of respondents in a UK survey said they switched from meat to plant-based proteins
- In a global consumer survey, 27% reported buying plant-based products weekly
- In 2023, plant-based meat launches in the US increased 12% year-over-year
- In 2023, plant-based yogurt launches in the US increased 9% year-over-year
- The number of new plant-based food and beverage products launched in the US was up 9% in 2023 versus 2022
- Beyond Meat reported selling, general & administrative expense of $199.9 million in fiscal 2023
- $2.70 per pound average retail price of plant-based burgers in the US in 2023 (reported as an average in the market survey)
- A 2020 study estimated that producing plant proteins can be cheaper per gram of protein than animal proteins in many scenarios (reported as a cost comparison using modeled inputs)
- IPCC AR6 estimates global warming potentials are lower for plant-based diets than typical diets including meat (directional finding reported across literature)
- A 2016 meta-analysis found average greenhouse gas emissions for plant-based foods are lower than animal-based counterparts (reported as a general direction across included studies)
- A 2018 peer-reviewed life-cycle assessment found that soy milk has about 30–50% lower greenhouse gas emissions than cow’s milk (range by system boundaries)
- In 2023, the global price of peas (as a proxy for pea protein input) averaged $0.21 per pound
In 2024, plant-based foods kept growing fast, powered by expanding markets, launches, and lower environmental impact.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size7 stats
01
$74.2 billion global plant-based food market size in 2024
02
$19.8 billion global plant-based meat market size in 2024
03
Global plant-based protein ingredients market size was $8.9 billion in 2023
04
Global plant-based yogurt market size reached $1.8 billion in 2023
05
The global plant-based protein ingredient market reached $9.6 billion in 2024
06
The global plant-based yogurt market reached $2.2 billion in 2024
07
The global plant-based meat market reached $20.6 billion in 2024
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The market size data shows rapid scale-up across plant-based categories, with the overall plant-based food market hitting $74.2 billion in 2024 and the plant-based meat market reaching $19.8 billion in 2024, while protein ingredients also climbed from $8.9 billion in 2023 to $9.6 billion in 2024 and plant-based yogurt grew from $1.8 billion in 2023 to $2.2 billion in 2024.
02 · Category
User Adoption2 stats
01
29% of respondents in a UK survey said they switched from meat to plant-based proteins
02
In a global consumer survey, 27% reported buying plant-based products weekly
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User adoption is clearly gaining momentum, with 29% of UK respondents switching from meat to plant-based proteins and 27% of global consumers buying plant-based products weekly.
03 · Category
Industry Trends4 stats
01
In 2023, plant-based meat launches in the US increased 12% year-over-year
02
In 2023, plant-based yogurt launches in the US increased 9% year-over-year
03
The number of new plant-based food and beverage products launched in the US was up 9% in 2023 versus 2022
04
In the US, plant-based meat retail sales reached $1.8 billion in 2024
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
In 2023, new plant-based launches across major categories kept accelerating, with US plant-based meat launches up 12% year over year and total new plant-based food and beverage products up 9% versus 2022, while retail sales for plant-based meat reached $1.8 billion in 2024.
More related reading
04 · Category
Pricing And Costs4 stats
01
Beyond Meat reported selling, general & administrative expense of $199.9 million in fiscal 2023
02
$2.70per pound average retail price of plant-based burgers in the US in 2023 (reported as an average in the market survey)
03
A 2020 study estimated that producing plant proteins can be cheaper per gram of protein than animal proteins in many scenarios (reported as a cost comparison using modeled inputs)
04
Soybean meal prices averaged $350per metric ton in 2023 (benchmark used for plant-protein ingredient costing in industry coverage)
Interpretation
Pricing And Costs Interpretation
In the Pricing And Costs view, 2023 shows a low average US retail price of $2.70 per pound for plant-based burgers alongside ingredient benchmarks like soybean meal at about $350 per metric ton, suggesting that even with costs such as Beyond Meat’s $199.9 million in fiscal 2023 overhead, producers are competing on tight price points.
05 · Category
Environmental Impact11 stats
01
IPCC AR6 estimates global warming potentials are lower for plant-based diets than typical diets including meat (directional finding reported across literature)
02
A 2016 meta-analysis found average greenhouse gas emissions for plant-based foods are lower than animal-based counterparts (reported as a general direction across included studies)
03
A 2018 peer-reviewed life-cycle assessment found that soy milk has about 30–50% lower greenhouse gas emissions than cow’s milk (range by system boundaries)
04
Water use for plant-based milk typically ranges substantially below dairy milk in LCA studies (reported as lower in multiple assessments)
05
IPBES reports about 75% of the world’s land is significantly altered by human actions (relevant to land-use impacts tied to food systems)
06
A 2019 peer-reviewed paper reported that plant-based diets are associated with lower diet-related greenhouse gas emissions compared with omnivorous diets (directional result across modeled scenarios)
07
11.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sector
08
In 2022, average agricultural land-use intensity for producing edible plant protein was lower than for producing animal protein in mixed farming systems, measured as land area per kilogram of protein
09
In a 2018 life-cycle assessment, greenhouse-gas emissions per kilogram for tofu were reported to be 48% lower than for beef under modeled assumptions
10
A 2021 peer-reviewed review found plant-based foods generally show lower eutrophication and acidification impacts than animal-based counterparts
11
In 2022, the global average feed conversion ratio (FCR) for cattle was reported as 6.0:1 in the reviewed literature
Interpretation
Environmental Impact Interpretation
Across environmental impact research, plant-based diets consistently show lower climate and resource pressures, including about 30 to 50 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions for soy milk versus cow’s milk and overall plant-based food emissions that are lower than animal-based options in meta-analyses, reinforcing the category’s link between dietary choices and environmental outcomes.
06 · Category
Cost Analysis1 stats
01
In 2023, the global price of peas (as a proxy for pea protein input) averaged $0.21per pound
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
In 2023, pea prices averaged just $0.21 per pound, suggesting that pea-based protein inputs were relatively low cost and supporting more favorable cost conditions for the plant-based industry.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Henrik Dahl. (2026, February 13). Plant-Based Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/plant-based-industry-statistics
MLA
Henrik Dahl. "Plant-Based Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/plant-based-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Henrik Dahl. 2026. "Plant-Based Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/plant-based-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
29 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net+11 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)