A better protein package: How plant-based companies can capture the protein boom
Consumers want protein—but new data shows many don’t realize plant-based meat delivers it
Special thanks to GFI’s Content Specialist Chelsea Hammersmith and Senior Consumer Research Lead Taylor Leet-Otley for their contributions to this piece.
As the new year begins, many consumers are refocusing on their eating habits—and protein is front and center. It’s now the number-one nutrient people pay attention to in their diets, outranking calories and sugar. These days, there is protein in your Starbucks cold brew, cereal, pasta, bread, Pop-Tarts, and even in water. Just this week, new U.S. dietary guidelines advised Americans to prioritize protein in their diet.
Though it may seem as if we’re living in an age of protein-fortified everything, meat is still consumers’ go-to food for protein. Poultry, eggs, dairy, red meat, fish, and seafood still rank at the top of protein sources consumers regularly eat, according to a recent Numerator survey.
While consumers are more primed for protein than ever, new research from GFI reveals that plant-based meat is often overlooked as a rich, center-of-the-plate protein source—one that already delivers what many consumers say they’re looking for. Plus, our consumer purchase data shows shoppers who do know how much protein plant-based meat contains spend significantly more on it, suggesting that brands have a major communication opportunity to leverage today’s booming protein demand.
Plant-based meat is an excellent protein package
When consumers are seeking out protein, how much exactly are they looking for? Data from our recent study shows that plant-based meat consumers expect a serving of plant-based meat to contain about 17 percent daily value of protein and consider anything around 28 percent or above as “high protein.” Notably, many of the top-selling products on the market already meet or exceed consumers’ expectations.
Beyond meeting consumers’ appetite for protein, plant-based meat delivers a unique protein package compared to conventional meat—one that includes fiber and typically less saturated fat and cholesterol.
Foods that deliver both protein and fiber provide advantages over protein alone, including improved weight management, better metabolic health, and greater satiety. Plus, dietary fiber’s benefits—like good gut health and a lower risk of developing coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity—are natural complements to protein’s impact on muscle and weight.
So if plant-based meat has all of the protein consumers expect from meat, fiber to help maximize its benefits, and lacks the high saturated fat and cholesterol that often come with animal meat, why hasn’t it become the darling of the protein- craze era?
Consumers’ perceptions of plant-based meat’s protein content are a barrier
While today’s plant-based meat products generally deliver protein levels comparable to conventional meat, many consumers don’t think of plant-based meat as high in protein. In fact, only about half of plant-based meat consumers think plant-based meat matches their high-protein expectations “very well,” according to recent survey data from GFI. Unsurprisingly, our qualitative research also found that many consumers think they need to eat conventional meat to have a healthy diet and that animal meat is the best source of protein.
50% of consumers don’t think plant-based meat delivers high protein, even though most common plant-based meat products meet or exceed consumers’ protein preferences, representing a significant messaging opportunity.
Protein also surfaces as a clear friction point in broader research. When asked an open-ended question about barriers to choosing plant-based meat, a recent study from the University of Cambridge found that protein was consumers’ top-mentioned issue.
It’s important to note that while protein can be a key purchase driver, especially if perceptions of plant-based meats' health attributes improve, consumer research consistently shows that taste and price remain the category’s most foundational growth drivers.
The market opportunity to improve protein perceptions is clear
What makes our new research on how health perceptions shape plant-based meat choices unique is that it connects what consumers say they value with how they actually spend.
Consumers who prioritize healthy eating don’t just express different attitudes—they behave differently at checkout. They spend more on foods they perceive as healthy and less on those they don’t. Plant-based meat consumers, in particular, are more likely to seek out healthier options, read nutrition labels, and pay more for them. In fact, plant-based meat consumers who strongly agree that health is their top consideration when deciding what to eat spend 56 percent more on plant-based meat than those who disagree.
Yet current consumers are only eating plant-based meat about two to three times per month, leaving significant room to grow by capturing more occasions—especially if consumers understand that plant-based meat can help them reach their specific health goals, like protein intake.
Our new data confirms this opportunity. Consumers who see plant-based meat as high-protein spend more on plant-based meat products in retail than those who don’t. Consumers also spend more on plant-based meat if they associate it with other positive health attributes, including being free of antibiotics and hormones, low in saturated fat and cholesterol, and made with recognizable (and not too many) ingredients.
Consumers who see plant-based meat as high-protein spend more on it than those who don’t.
The missing ingredient is awareness. Consumers need to see plant-based meat for what it is: a protein powerhouse without antibiotics or hormones, with less fat and cholesterol, and with the fiber needed to maximize protein’s health benefits.
Evidence shows that protein-forward messaging can shift behavior. The University of Cambridge found that claims and messaging that emphasize protein can effectively influence consumers to choose plant-based meat. Researchers presented participants with two visually similar, same-price menu items from a well-known British bakery chain. When protein content was included on the menu, participants were significantly more likely to select the plant-based option than those who only saw the product name, image, and price.
Targeted messaging that goes beyond on-pack claims may also be a powerful lever for companies to consider, given that many consumers aren’t even making it to the shelf in the first place. Only 10 percent of consumers claim to have seen, read, or heard “a lot” about plant-based meat in the past year; another 31 percent claim to have heard “some.” Around one in four lapsed plant-based meat consumers cite “just not thinking about it” as a top reason they haven’t returned to the category.
Helping consumers understand plant-based meat’s protein credentials, along with other nutrition benefits, is a key, underleveraged opportunity. As the protein craze shows no signs of slowing down, the time is ripe for food companies to put plant-based meat center-stage this year and beyond.
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