Read the new report from Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) here.
GFI Europe analyzed data from NielsenIQ and found that Denmark’s plant-based sector is growing rapidly with year-on-year (YOY) growth of 10 % in 2022. Compared to animal alternatives, some plant-based categories have grown faster and are less affected by inflation.
Denmark is now the second largest consumer of plant-based milk in Europe based on sales per capita, after Sweden. Plant-based milk account for 7 % of Denmark’s total milk market, growing to DKK 346 million in 2022. Sales of plant-based milk has increased by 17 % from 2020 to 2022, while sales of animal milk has decreased by 10 % over the same period.
Although sales in DKK of plant-based meat has leveled off, partly due to falling prices, unit sales of pre-packed plant-based meat have increased by 3 %. While sales of animal meats in supermarkets has decreased by 4 %. The price of plant-based meat alternatives increased by 1,5 % YOY in 2022, while conventional meat prices increased by 12 %.
Unit sales of plant-based cheese increased by 12 % from 2020 to 2022, whereas animal-based cheese decreased by 0.4%. Prices for plant-based cheese decreased by 1 % last year compared to animal cheese prices, which increased by up to 14 %.
Other categories have seen double-digit growth. Unit sales of plant-based spreads have increased by 54 % and plant-based ready meals have seen a 94 % growth from 2020 to 2022. The average price of a plant-based ready meals decreased by 1 % in 2022.
Study across 13 European countries
GFI Europe’s analysis consisted of data from 13 European countries, which found that sales of plant-based foods has grown by an average of 2 2% over the period, reaching a total value of €5.7 billion in 2022.
Carlotte Lucas, senior corporate engagement manager at GFI Europe,says: “The data reveals a growing appetite for plant-based foods in Denmark, especially as prices decline and new options become available to consumers”.
“The Danish government has done the right thing by investing in the development of this growing sector to meet demand and build a more sustainable food system, and businesses should have the confidence to continue developing new and better products in this context. The rest of Europe should follow Denmark’s example in this area.”
Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, Secretary General of the Danish Vegetarian Society, says: “The data confirms the sustained growth of the plant-based food market and how it is gradually replacing parts of the existing animal food market. To ensure faster growth in the coming years, we need more policy initiatives, in particular public sector targets, reforms of the education system and training of food industry professionals. We are therefore looking forward to the government’s upcoming national action plan for plant-based food.”
About the figures:
Danish market data for plant-based foods is based on NielsenIQ’s sales and market research. NielsenIQ is a leading global provider of information and insight. They serve as a basis for analysis and subsequent processing of the figures. The NielsenIQ company extracted figures for 52 weeks, 104 weeks, and 156 weeks ending December 31, 2022.
The other countries included in the survey are Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.