Plant-Based Protein Market to Witness Robust Expansion by 2030

The global plant-based protein market reached a revenue of $11,104.3 million in 2020 and it is predicted to advance at a CAGR of 9.2% from 2020 to 2030 (forecast period). According to the estimates of the market research company, P&S Intelligence, the market will attain a value of $26,721.3 million by 2030. The major factors driving the market are the growing intolerance of people to animal protein, surging customers’ expenditure, and rising public awareness about healthy plant-based foods.

The rise in customer spending and rapid improvements in the living standards of people are pushing up the sales of plant-based proteins across the globe. As per the World Bank, the total expenditure of customers rose from $49.33 trillion in 2010 to $64.130 trillion in 2019. Furthermore, the growing popularity of the vegan lifestyle, owing to its eco-friendliness, is also positively impacting the worldwide demand for plant-based proteins. Besides, the increasing incidence of animal protein intolerance among people, especially in Western countries, is also propelling the expansion of the plant-based protein market.

For instance, lactose intolerance (intolerance to milk protein) is rapidly becoming common globally, as the protein components in milk trigger reactions to whey (milk albumin) or protein emulsions in emulsion (caseins). Allergy toward cow’s milk protein is the most common form of food allergy among children and affects around 2¬–5% of the child population aged below 3 years in Brazil. The plant-based protein market is classified into liquid and dry, depending on form. Between these, the dry category held larger share in the market between 2015 and 2020 and this trend will continue in the forthcoming years as well. 

This is ascribed to the cooking advantages and easy handling of dry food products. In addition, the requirement for dry food products is quite high among people who seek ready-to-eat and convenient meals. The market is also categorized, under the type segment, into isolated, concentrated, and textured. Amongst these, the textured category is predicted to register the highest growth rate during the forecast period, because of the fact that these proteins are high in protein and fiber and highly beneficial for heart health. 

Geographically, North America contributed the highest revenue to the plant-based protein market in the past. This was because of the growing preference of people for natural ingredients in the food and beverage industry and surging concerns being raised over the rising prevalence of obesity in the region. In the coming years, the market is expected to exhibit the fastest growth in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, owing to the growing population of vegetarians, rising income of people, and soaring requirement for protein among people in the region.

Hence, it can be safely said that the demand for plant-based proteins will surge sharply in the upcoming years, mainly because of the growing disposable income of people, rising popularity of the vegan lifestyle, and increasing intolerance of people toward animal protein across the world.