Until recently, plant-based burgers rarely stemmed beyond vegetable or bean-based offerings. However, with the growing number of people enjoying a vegetarian, vegan or flexitarian diet, innovation in the plant-based burger sector has skyrocketed.

According to Innova Market Insights, the average annual growth in global food and beverage launches with vegan and plant-based claims grew 21% and 58% respectively between 2015-2019.

A staple of any vegan BBQ, FoodBev Media takes a look at how the plant-based burger market has evolved over the years.

2015 – 2017

2015 marks the year when vegan products started to become mainstream. With many big industry names, such as Califia Farms receiving substantial investments, and others such as Guinness adopting vegan-friendly products and manufacturing processes. However, the plant-based burger aisle remained sparse5, with a minimal amount of releases – one being Fry’s Family Food’s falafel burger – taking the foreground.

2016 saw further strides with meat alternative brand Beyond Meat introducing a new meat-free range that included plant-based burgers. In 2017, Beyond Meat secured $55 million in an investment round and even received investment from Leonardo DiCaprio. Another industry leader, Impossible Foods, also received substantial funding of $75 million in 2017, aimed specifically at creating meatless burgers. With such investments and backing from celebrities, innovation in the meat alternative market became a new trend, particularly due to growing global demand for protein in meat form.

2018

As we moved into 2018, Beyond Meat continued to expand by rolling out its Beyond Burger in 50 new countries. Since their launch in 2016, Beyond Meat had sold over 13 million of their protein-packed patties in nearly 15,000 restaurants and grocery stores by 2018.

2018 also saw various other big names launching new plant-based burger products. For instance, Kellogg’s plant-based brand MorningStar, Vivera and Sainsbury’s all launching plant-based burger products within this year.

This year also saw the release of Don Lee Farms’ organic plant-based raw burger. When cooked, this burger ‘bleeds’ organic beet juice and sizzles on a grill like a conventional burger, paving the way for similar products in the coming years.

2019

In 2019, a plethora of new plant-based burger products were brought to the table. This year saw a rise in global meat brands offering burger alternatives, for example, Marfig’s Revolution burger and Smithfield Foods’ plant-based burger.

This, along with Beyond Meat’s release of a new “meatier” burger, signifies a key industry shift towards plant-based burgers, particularly those catering to a flexitarian audience. Many consumers chose to cut down on the amount of meat they ate, rather than give it up completely. As a result, many consumers felt comfortable purchasing plant-based products from meat companies as part of a flexitarian lifestyle, opening up the plant-based burger market to experiment with textures, flavours and tastes that mimic its meaty counterpart.

Plant-based burgers stepped even further into the mainstream in 2019 with well-known fast-food chains trialling their own meat alternatives. McDonald’s partnered with Beyond Meat to trial a new plant-based burger called the P.L.T in Canada and Burger King released a plant-based Impossible Whopper burger in the US for a limited period of time.

In 2019, Bunge Loders Croklaan developed new fats for meat-free burgers and DuPont launched new solutions for plant-based meat alternatives. These large scale ingredients companies, which were providing solutions for plant-based meat, would be sure to lend a convenient hand in bringing alternative products to the fore in the coming years.

Other releases in 2019 included Nestlé’s ‘PB triple play’, a plant-based bacon cheeseburger, Kellogg’s MorningStar ‘Incogmeato’ burger and Impossible Food’s meat-free burger without gluten.

2020

New releases were plentiful in 2020 with the release of Conagra Brands’ Gardein Ultimate Plant-Based Burger, Sysco’s plant-based burger patty and Tofurky branching out to beef alternatives with their plant-based beef-style burger.

The market also saw a lot of experimentation with flavours, for instance, with Nestlé-owned Sweet Earth Foods releasing a plant-based burger infused with vegan bacon bits, showing big brands innovating burger alternatives further in order to stand out in a market that is now more saturated.

As the impacts Covid-19 were felt across the globe, many took to home-cooking and ordering meal kits. While meal kits were on the rise prior to the pandemic due to their convenience, national lockdowns and restrictions elevated their success to burgeoning heights. For example, in July 2020, meal kit firm Home Chef collaborated with Impossible Foods to offer customers a range of plant-based meal options including their Impossible Burger. According to Grandview Research, the meal kit delivery service market is estimated to reach nearly $20 billion by 2027.

2020 was an important year for plant-based burgers in Europe as the European Parliament voted to reject the ban on products using names typically associated with meat products. The ‘veggie burger ban’ would have restricted the use of terms such as ‘sausage’, ‘burger’ and ‘steak’ on labels for plant-based alternative products and could have seen them renamed as ‘veggie discs’ or ‘veggie tubes’.

2021 and beyond

We are currently only at the beginning of 2021 but have already witnessed some new plant-based burger releasest. Kerry Foods added two new vegan products to its Naked Glory line-up, which included No-Beef Strips and Chick’n Burgers. These additions signal the plant-based burger market moving beyond beef burger alternatives towards a variety of offerings.

Notably, 2021 will see the debut of McDonald’s line of plant-based meat options called McPlant, including a plant-based patty. According to Reuters, this will put the plant-based meat movement at the forefront in America.

This year, the Veganuary campaign saw a record-breaking number of sign-ups. Many more consumers are now experimenting with or adopting a flexitarian diet and this surge in plant-based product launches has provided both variety and convenience.

Ultimately, this has heightened demand for plant-based meat products that look and feel familiar. Plant-based burgers are becoming mainstream and we have seen recent trends towards burgers that look, cook and even sizzle and bleed just like real meat.

Innovation is rife in the plant-based industry and the World Plant-Based Taste Awards 2021 are a fantastic way to showcase how great your innovations taste. Think you’ve got what it takes to win? Enter now!

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