Consumer Insights on Vegan, Vegetarian, & Flexitarian Eating
With more options available in grocery stores for our own use in home baking or cooking, more options in prepared foods at retail outlets, consumer have a lot to consider in plant-based foods. The flow also moves from the foodservice market to the retail market and back as more consumers seek plant-based dining away from home and retail food suppliers seek inspiration from what chefs offer in restaurants.
Opportunities exist in providing delicious, affordable, and convenient plant-based options to the growing number of consumers who pursue that type of plant-forward eating on at least a part-time basis. Interest in plant-forward eating has risen along with greater concern about personal health, the environment, and animal welfare issues. Increasing access to plant-forward options -- including meat or dairy alternatives -- in grocery stores and at restaurants has made plant-forward eating more visible and easier to do.
Plant-forward eating is often a component of lifestyles that encompass more values than just food preferences. Vegans and vegetarians are the most likely to layer on another diet type, including low-sugar, gluten-free, and high-protein.
With a focus on “what’s next” and current consumer trends, Consumer Insights on Vegan, Vegetarian, & Flexitarian Eating is packed with insights about consumer trends, behavior, and motivations to help food producers, retailers, packaging companies, employers, and investors gauge consumer perspectives and find areas for growth in a competitive market.
Consumer Insights on Vegan, Vegetarian, & Flexitarian Eating provides actionable and data-driven insights about consumer preferences for, awareness of, and feelings about plant-forward diets, including vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian, pescatarian, and omnivore eating. This report examines the current dynamics of plant-forward eating, consider snacking habits, mealtime trends, use of vitamins, grocery shopping habits, health outlooks, and other trends by type of plant-forward diet followed.
Scope
Consumer Insights on Vegan, Vegetarian, & Flexitarian Eating is the go-to source for a complete understanding of U.S. consumer trends in plant-forward eating. This report combines Packaged Facts’ extensive monitoring of the food and beverage market with proprietary surveys, and evaluates current trends and future directions, along with consumer patterns during the pandemic and across the broader food and beverage market.
Consumer demographics, perceptions, motivations, and behavior pertaining to plant-forward eating and attitudes on food and diet are analyzed, as are the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumers in those contexts. These consumer insights are indicative of present and future market opportunities.
Consumer Insights on Vegan, Vegetarian, & Flexitarian Eating has dozens of tables and figures displaying exclusive numerical survey data. Data is broken out, analyzed, and discussed by characteristics such as age, gender, income, regional differences, and family status.
Report Methodology
The information contained in Consumer Insights on Vegan, Vegetarian, & Flexitarian Eating was developed from primary and secondary research sources. Primary research includes Packaged Facts’ exclusive national online consumer polls of U.S. adult consumers (age 18+) conducted on an ongoing basis to analyze attitudes of consumers and their relevant food and beverage preferences.
- Introduction
- COVID-19 Effects on Consumers
- Highlights
- Concerns about COVID-19 Exposure Remain
- Table Coronavirus Health Concerns: “I am concerned about the current coronavirus health threat…”, 2020 – 2022, (percent of consumers)
- Table Coronavirus Health Concerns: “I am concerned about the current coronavirus health threat…”, by Dietary Preferences, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Concerns About COVID-19 Variants
- Table "How Concerned Are You About the Current Omicron Variant of COVID-19 & Future Variants?" by Dietary Preference, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Rising Prices During the Pandemic
- Table Consumer Concerns about Rising Food & Beverage Prices, 2021 – 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Table Consumer Concerns about Rising Food & Beverage Prices, by Dietary Preference, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Negative Personal Effects of the Pandemic
- Negative Effects Reported in 2020 & 2021
- Table Coronavirus Concerns: “The coronavirus has negatively affected my…”, 2020 – 2021 (percent of consumers)
- Continuing Mental & Physical Health Effects
- Table Changes in Mental & Physical Symptoms During the Pandemic, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Table Changes in Mental & Physical Symptoms During the Pandemic, by Dietary Preferences, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Negative Effects Reported in 2020 & 2021
- Boosted Online Grocery Shopping Activity Continuing Through 2022
- Activity Spiked in 2020 during the Early Part of the Pandemic
- Table Coronavirus Food Purchase Habits: “Because of the coronavirus, I am…”, 2020 – 2021 (percent of consumers)
- Many Have Continued Ordering More Groceries Online in 2021 and 2022
- Table Grocery Ordering for Curbside Pickup, by Dietary Preferences, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Table Grocery Ordering for Home Delivery, by Dietary Preferences, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Activity Spiked in 2020 during the Early Part of the Pandemic
- Most Consumers Are Still Holding off on Dining Out
- Table Restaurant Eating Habits, by Dietary Preference, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Increased Use of Food Carryout and Delivery
- Table Restaurant Habits: Ordering Restaurant Meals for Carryout, by Dietary Preference, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Table Restaurant Habits: Ordering Restaurant Meals Online for Home Delivery, by Dietary Preference, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Snacking and Healthy Eating Habits
- Table Coronavirus Eating Habits: “Compared to habit before the coronavirus pandemic, I have increased frequency of eating…”, by Dietary Preferences, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Work-From-Home Trends
- Table "Are You Set Up to Do Your Usual Paid Work From Home –Whether Ordinarily, Part-Time, or When Necessary?" by Gender, Age Group, Income Bracket, &Presence of Children at Home, 2021 – 2022 (percent of respondents who work full- or part-time who said yes)
- Table "Are You Set Up to Do Your Usual Paid Work From Home –Whether Ordinarily, Part-Time, or When Necessary?" by Primary Eating Philosophy, 2021 – 2022 (percent of respondents who work full- or part-time who said yes)
- Vegan, Vegetarian, and Flexitarian Overview
- Highlights
- Definitions
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Pescatarian
- Flexitarian
- Omnivore
- Adherence to Plant-Forward Diets
- Table Prevalence of Plant-Forward Eating Habits/Diet Control, 2019 – 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Familiarity with Vegan, Pescatarian, and Flexitarian Diets
- Table “Are you familiar with (heard of it and know what is involved in following it) any of the following diet and eating philosophies?” 2021 – 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Strong Overlap Between Plant-Forward Eating and Other Diets
- Table Adherence to Other Diets/Eating Philosophies by Type of Plant-Forward Diets Followed, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Differences in Eating Patterns Are Personal
- Vegans May Disagree on What Veganism Means
- Vegetarians Also Differ on Dietary and Lifestyle Choices
- Flexitarians Are More Purposeful in Their Eating Habits, But Omnivores Eat Plant- Based Foods Too
- Religious Eating Restrictions
- Who Is the Target Audience for Plant-Based Meat and Dairy Alternatives?
- Meat Eaters Are Also Concerned About the Meat Industry, and Some Are Turning to More Ethical Meat Consumption
- Snacking Trends
- Most Consumers Snack Daily
- Table Weekday Snacking Frequency by Type of Plant-Forward Diets Followed, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Table Weekend Snacking Frequency by Type of Plant-Forward Diets Followed, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Plant-Forward Consumer Snacking Attitudes
- Table General Snacking Habits by Type of Plant-Forward Diets Followed, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Table Self-Care Snacking Habits by Plant-Forward Diets Followed, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Most Consumers Snack Daily
- Vitamin Supplement Consumption
- Most Consumers Report Taking a Daily Vitamin Supplement
- Table Frequency of Vitamin Supplement Consumption by Type of Plant-Forward Diet Followed, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Vitamins Are Mostly Used To Cover Gaps in Diet
- Table Frequency of Vitamin Supplement Consumption by Type of Plant-Forward Diet Followed, 2022 (percent of consumers who take vitamins)
- Most Consumers Report Taking a Daily Vitamin Supplement
- Consumer Demographics
- Highlights
- Trends by Gender
- Table Following Plant-Forward Diets by Gender, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Trends by Age Group
- Table Following Plant-Forward Diets by Age Group, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Patterns Based on Household Income
- Table Following Plant-Forward Diets by Household Income Bracket, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Regional Differences
- Table Following Plant-Forward Diets by US Region, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Urban, Suburban, and Rural Consumers
- Table Following Plant-Forward Diets by Urban, Suburban, or Rural Setting, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Presence of Children in the Household
- Table Following Plant-Forward Diets by Presence of Children in the Household, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Race/Ethnicity
- Table Following Plant-Forward Diets by Race/Ethnicity, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Consumer Psychographics
- Consumers Following Plant-Forward Diets Are More Likely to Shop at Premium Grocers
- Table Grocery Purchases from Selected Retailers in the Last 30 Days by Type of Plant-Forward Diets Followed, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Use of Information Resources for Food, Recipes, and Healthy Living
- Table Daily Use of Food Information Resources by Type of Plant-Forward Diets Followed, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Health Perceptions
- Opinions on Whole/Unprocessed Foods, Carbs, and Protein
- Table Opinions on Whole/Unprocessed Foods, Carbs, and Protein by Type of Plant-Forward Diets Followed, 2022 (percent of consumers)
- Opinions on Healthy Diets and Food Restrictions
- Table Opinions on Healthy Diets and Food Restrictions by Type of Plant-Forward Diets Followed, 2021 (percent of consumers)
- Opinions on Whole/Unprocessed Foods, Carbs, and Protein
- Consumers Following Plant-Forward Diets Are More Likely to Shop at Premium Grocers
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