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Women eat less meat and pay more attention to animal welfare
by Debora Pape
Flexitarians are fuelling the trend towards a vegan diet
3-2-2026
Translation: machine translated
First a boom, then a crisis? While headlines about closing restaurants and falling share prices herald the end of the vegan hype, market figures show a quiet evolution: the plant-based diet is not disappearing, it is just growing up and finding its place at the dining table.
In recent years, everyone has been talking about a plant-based diet - or at least on social media. A real plant-based hype made meat fans fear for their schnitzel, vegan restaurants sprang up and supermarket shelves with plant-based products became increasingly full.
However, the hype has been dying down for some time now: Some specific branded products are disappearing from the shops again, purely vegan restaurants are closing and meat substitute pioneer Beyond Meat is in crisis due to falling sales. The agricultural magazine «Agrar heute» reports smugly that «has taken the wind out of veganism's sails».
So is the trend over?
Increasing sales, but less product breadth
No, says Proveg, the organisation behind the yellow vegan label. It has analysed figures from all over Europe. The result: After years of hype, which created an unnaturally high demand, plant-based products are now becoming firmly anchored in purchasing behaviour.
According to the Europe Plant Based Meat Market Report, European retail sales for meat substitutes will reach 1.56 billion US dollars (equivalent to around 1.32 billion euros) in 2024, with sales of 1.8 billion dollars (1.52 billion euros) expected in 2025. This is expected to increase to 5.85 billion dollars (4.94 billion euros) by 2033.
In the entire plant-based segment, which also includes milk alternatives, Germany alone according to the Good Food Institute Europe will generate sales of 1.68 billion euros in 2024. Supermarket own brands account for a large proportion of this, as they are usually cheaper than branded products.
However, the sales figures actually show a decline in demand for individual segments or regional markets. The resurgent trend towards home-cooking is also reflected in the variety of products, such as plant-based ready meals. While some vegan speciality restaurants are also closing, the plant-based share in mainstream gastronomy is growing rapidly according to the Proveg analysis: vegan options are reserving a permanent place on the menu. This can be observed throughout Europe.
Our own figures also show an upward trend: last year, Galaxus merchandise management enjoyed a 61 per cent increase in sales of meat substitutes. Although this figure benefits from the general growth of our food range, the significance is remarkable. As we do not stock any chilled products - which make up the majority of the meat substitute market - this growth also shows that plant-based alternatives are no longer just a fresh topic, but have become a permanent fixture in our customers' larders.
These products were purchased particularly frequently:
Hype turns into habit
According to Proveg, the herbal market is now undergoing a «recalibration» in which the true potential of demand is being separated from the artificially inflated hype. After an innovation phase with numerous new products, customers are now becoming more demanding: what ends up in the shopping trolley must fulfil expectations in terms of taste, quality, health and price. If products do not fulfil these expectations, they are not bought and are removed from the range.
The most important target group for the plant-based market is not vegans, but so-called flexitarians. These are people who do not completely abstain from meat, eggs and milk, but regularly consciously choose animal-free alternatives. Just under 40 per cent of all consumers in Germany are flexitarians, according to their own data.
Flexitarian eaters pay less attention to new trend products and instead choose according to suitability for everyday use, value for money and flavour. The fact that plant-based products are becoming more popular is not only due to greater climate and health awareness and interest in animal welfare, but also to significant improvements in flavour, nutritional value and texture.
So the figures show that vegan products will not replace pork schnitzel in the short or long term. But they are here to stay.
Header image: Shutterstock/Karl Allgaeuer
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
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