Plant-based, but Taste-heavy

The growing demand for plant-based bakery drives a thriving worldwide market. But the challenges manufacturers face when developing new products or reformulating heirloom recipes range from consistency to taste, and from price to clean label expectations. 

Maybe 10 years ago a baker could ignore plant-based products and dismiss them as a fad, or, at best, the request of a small community, the vegans. Now, that would be a bad business decision. 

According to market research published by Meticulous Research, the plant-based food market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.4% from 2022–2029 to reach USD95.52bn by 2029.

The plant-based food sector has been growing rapidly due to factors such as the increasing concerns regarding greenhouse gas emissions and the increased pressure on land and water usage during animal protein production. The shift towards plant-based diets has been predominantly driven by consumer health concern, desire for variety, flexibility, and increased ethical awareness fueling the need to incorporate new products, such as vegan meat, egg, milk, seafood, bakery, and confectionery.

The pandemic influenced consumers’ preoccupation with health and accelerated the development of plant-based foods. In the past 5 years, the plant-based food industry has attracted investments from venture capital firms and major established meat supply companies. 

Moreso, the plant-based products don’t exclusively address vegans anymore. Flexitarians, which are omnivores that are part-time vegans, are influencing demand for plant-based foods and are the most important target group for manufacturers of plant-based products, according to recent research from Beneo. One-in-four people surveyed called themselves flexitarians while only seven percent identified as vegan, vegetarian or pescatarian.

You can read the rest of this article in the May-June issue of European Baker & Biscuit, which you can access by clicking here.