According to new data from Circana, retail sales of meat alternative products have declined in recent months.
Alternative meat sales in U.S. retail locations have fallen year-over-year, according to the company. Purchases of plant-based meat alternatives fell 12.6% in the five weeks ending July 2, to $106.8 million, a 19.8% decline year-over-year, the Circana data said.
The higher costs of some of the products could be a factor. The price per unit across all foods and beverages in multi-outlet stores increased by 6.4% in the five weeks ending July 2, according to the data, and dollar sales of conventional refrigerated meat fell by 2.7% year-over-year to $8.4 billion in the five weeks ending July 2.
In order to offer competitive prices compared to that of conventional meat, plant-based companies will have to pay off their R&D costs. However once that occurs, it is believed their market share has the potential to grow exponentially.
Plant based products have been growing in sales for years. Retail sales of plant-based foods in the United States hit a record $8 billion in 2022, according to SPINS data by the trade group Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) and nonprofit The Good Food Institute (GFI).