According to research by the GfK Polonia Household Panel, the popularity of plant-based meat and dairy substitutes is growing steadily in Poland. Between April 2021 and March 2022, almost 6 million Polish households turned to products from this category.

New eating habits are the result of changing consumer values. For more than half of buyers, healthy ingredients are already the most important criterion for choosing food, and nearly 43 % pay attention to their natural origin The pandemic has had a lasting impact on consumer trends and has made Poles more willing to care about a healthy diet.

Today, one in three shoppers consciously limits their meat consumption. Over the past three years, sales of products in this category have fallen by 7.5 % in volume terms. Instead, consumers are turning to plant-based substitutes for meat and dairy. From April 2021 to March 2022, the category experienced more than 21 % growth in the number of buyers compared to the same period a year earlier.

“Admittedly, plant-based substitutes only account for 0.3% of the total shopping basket, but it must be acknowledged that this category is growing at a dizzying pace. In the analysed period, the value of purchases of plant-based products increased year-on-year by 32% for dairy and by as much as 67% for plant-based meat, while the entire food category recorded only 3.5 % growth”, says Anna Michalak, Senior Consultant in the GfK Polonia Household Panel.

According to GfK experts, consumer trends in the coming months will be increasingly influenced by the current economic situation.

“The war in Ukraine and the economic crisis are significantly influencing our shopping choices. Galloping inflation makes us manage our budgets more carefully and reach for cheaper products, not necessarily those that are ecological”, adds Michalak.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński