Nils-Gerrit Wunsch
Research expert covering foods trends in North America, Europe, and the global food system
Meat substitutes market in the United Kingdom - statistics & facts
The United Kingdom is one of Europe’s most developed markets for meat substitutes. These products are universally available and reach a large part of the country’s consumers. In Europe, only the German market generates a higher revenue for plant-based meat alternatives. Regular meat is however holding steady, with its per capita consumption forecasted at 48.5 kilograms for 2027, the same figure as ten years prior.
The UK is among the leading markets for meat substitutes in Europe, with consumers mostly concerned about meat’s harmful impact on health. Given how rising prices negatively affect meat consumption, the plant-based market has the potential to further develop if it manages to stay competitive.
Consumption of meat alternatives
For comparison, the per capita consumption of plant-based alternatives amounted to just under one kilogram in 2024. This is a far cry from meat consumption levels. However, long-term plant-based meat consumption is expected to rise. In 2024, overall consumption volumes were at 62 million kilograms. Consumption is in large parts driven by perceived health benefits of plant-based substitutes. Close to 40 percent of plant-based meat consumers stated in a UK-wide survey that health benefits are their reason for eating plant-based substitutes. Increasing discussions about the healthiness of hyper-processed food products, such as meat alternatives, have the potential to negatively impact consumer interest in plant-based meat products.Meat substitute brands
The UK market has a rich landscape of meat substitute brands. Quorn was in the lead in 2024, based on brand awareness among the general population. Approximately 80 percent of all consumers in the country are aware of it. It outclassed most of its competitors in awareness. For comparison, Beyond Meat, a meat substitute brand of the first hour, is known by around 40 percent of consumers. Quorn is popular with about 54 percent of responding plant-based consumers and gets eaten by 55 percent.Who is giving up meat?
According to a 2025 survey, while flexitarians and vegans in the UK were equally distributed across genders, the vegetarian diet appeared to be more popular among women. Gen Z is likely to drive the market for meat alternatives, as roughly one third stated to be planning to stop consuming meat altogether in the near future. Independently from generational preferences, however, it is current inflationary trends that might foster meat avoidance: in 2024, about 10 percent of UK consumers said to be flexitarians in order to reduce spending. This percentage more than doubled since 2022.The UK is among the leading markets for meat substitutes in Europe, with consumers mostly concerned about meat’s harmful impact on health. Given how rising prices negatively affect meat consumption, the plant-based market has the potential to further develop if it manages to stay competitive.
