by Freedonia Industry Studies
December 29, 2020
Many people have discovered that they changed their eating habits during the COVID-19 pandemic. For most people, this was shifting from dining out to cooking at home or at least eating at home with carryout meals.
However, others found that they shifted what they ate as well. For instance, while 59% of respondents to The Freedonia Group National Online Consumer Survey in November 2020 reported eating more comfort foods because of the coronavirus pandemic, 45% reported that they were eating more healthily because of the pandemic. With many people still concerned about the health effects of the COVID-19 virus for themselves or their families, many people sought to eat better to improve their personal health.
Combining these pandemic effects with the growing availability of vegan and otherwise plant-forward food options in stores and restaurants, the promoters of Veganuary – a pledge to eat meat-free for the month of January – expect record participation.
In fact, there is already a growing community of vegetarian, vegan, and flexitarian consumers. Our August 2020 national online consumer survey indicated that only 3% of respondents identified as vegan, but that number is growing as most people who follow this eating philosophy are new to it. Nearly one-third reported that they started eating vegan in 2000, and 20% started eating vegan in 2019.
Additionally, there is a growing number of people eating more plant-forward diets. In the same August 2020 survey, 5% identified as vegetarian and 36% said they follow a flexitarian diet in that they regularly incorporate vegetarian or vegan meals. These are consumers – an additional 41% of the population – who would be open to eating vegan packaged foods and vegan meals from restaurants or to cooking vegan meals at home.
With the proliferation of meat and dairy analogues – including versions with a taste and texture to please even a devoted meat eater – it is increasingly easy for more consumers to sample plant-forward eating and incorporate more of it into their routine meals.
For more information and discussion of opportunities, see reports from our sister publisher, Packaged Facts, including Vegetarian, Vegan, & Flexitarian Consumers; Meat, Poultry, & Seafood Alternatives: Outlook for Plant-Based & Cell-Cultured Consumer Products; Dairy & Egg Alternatives: Outlook for Plant-Based & Cell-Cultured Consumer Products; Global Meat & Poultry Trends; The Organic & Clean Label Food Shopper; and Home Food Gardening (coming soon).
Related research is also available from The Freedonia Group’s extensive collection of off-the-shelf research, including packaging industry titles such as Molded Pulp Packaging, Stretch & Shrink Film, and Meat, Poultry, & Seafood Packaging as well as coverage in Frozen Food Packaging and Produce Packaging coming soon. The Freedonia Group’s related garden industry coverage includes Home & Garden Pesticides, Lawn & Garden Consumer Insights: The Home Gardener, and updated editions of our benchmark reports -- Lawn & Garden Consumables and Power Lawn & Garden Equipment -- are coming soon.
Freedonia Custom Research is also available for questions requiring tailored market intelligence.