Blended Proteins: A Healthy Balance For Retailers And Flexitarians

As consumer attitudes toward meat are undergoing significant changes, new lines of meat alternatives are hitting the shelves every day. These changes are being driven by shifts in the U.S. population toward younger generations with increasingly diverse ethnic profiles and attitudes. These shifts have also been accelerated by consumer concerns about the safety and availability of the meat supply chain in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of these ongoing changes, plant-based meat alternatives are now top of mind for both meat consumers and the retail meat industry alike.

Changing attitudes have also given rise to several new meat consumer segments including those known as Flexitarians. Flexitarians represent about one-fifth of meat eaters and are comprised of those who actively replace meat and poultry with vegetable- and plant-based proteins as a main dish daily or several times a week. Compared to the general meat eater, Flexitarians express more concerns about their health and the environment, see themselves as extremely environmentally conscious and are willing to pay more for environmentally safe products.1