Plant-based meat $33.3 billion by 2031

OpenPR on May 15 circulated a market-forecast item that points to a familiar figure in the plant-based meat business: $33.3 billion by 2031. The projection did not originate with a new regulatory filing or company earnings report. It traces back to an Allied Market Research release tied to a report that used 2021 as its base year and forecast a 20.5% compound annual growth rate through 2031. The number matters because it shows how market-research firms still frame the category’s long-term upside even after several years of uneven retail performance in the United States. Good Food Institute data published in 2025 showed global retail sales of plant-based foods reached $28.6 billion in 2024, while the U.S. plant-based food retail market totaled $8.1 billion and was slightly below its 2022 level. (alliedmarketresearch.com) ### Where did the $33.3 billion figure come from? Allied Market Research said in its release that the global plant-based meat market was valued at $5.3 billion in 2021 and is estimated to reach $33.3 billion by 2031. The firm said that implies a 20.5% CAGR from 2022 to 2031. The OpenPR item appears to be a redistribution of that forecast rather than a newly disclosed study. (gfi.org) PR Newswire carried the same Allied Market Research projection in 2022, with the same base-year value, end-year target and growth rate. ### Is this a fresh market update or an older forecast resurfacing? (alliedmarketresearch.com) May 15 is the publication date of the OpenPR post, but the underlying forecast is older. Allied Market Research’s press-release page identifies the report as a 2022 release, and PR Newswire published the same figures on October 25, 2022. That distinction matters because market forecasts and current sales are not the same thing. (prnewswire.com) The Allied estimate describes a modeled 2031 outcome, while newer industry trackers describe what consumers actually bought more recently. ### What are researchers saying is driving growth? Allied Market Research linked demand to vegetarian and flexitarian eating patterns and said plant-based meat products are gaining popularity as alternatives to animal meat. (alliedmarketresearch.com) The firm also cited product attributes such as lower saturated fat and a lower carbon footprint than animal-based meat, while noting that additives and nutritional gaps could restrain growth. Grand View Research, in a separate market report summary, also tied category growth to consumers seeking alternatives to red and processed meat and projected the global plant-based meat market would reach $24.77 billion by 2030 from $7.17 billion in 2023. ### How does that forecast compare with current market conditions? Good Food Institute said global retail sales of plant-based meat, seafood, milk, yogurt, ice cream and cheese rose 5% in 2024 to $28.6 billion. (alliedmarketresearch.com) In the United States, the same report said the broader plant-based food retail market totaled $8.1 billion in 2024, down slightly from $8.5 billion in 2022. (grandviewresearch.com) U.S. plant-based meat has been a weaker spot. AgFunderNews, citing SPINS data shared in 2025, reported U.S. retail sales of plant-based meat fell 7.5% to $1.13 billion in the year ended April 20, 2025, with units down 10%. ### Why do forecasts still point up if some sales data is soft? (gfi.org) Different datasets measure different things. Allied Market Research is projecting a global market over a decade, while Good Food Institute and SPINS are reporting recent retail sales snapshots that can show short-term declines even if researchers expect longer-term expansion. (agfundernews.com) Circana data cited by GFI Europe showed Europe’s plant-based food and drink market across six countries reached 16.3 billion euros from 2024 to 2025, up 5.1% year over year. That suggests growth is not moving uniformly across regions or product types. 2024 and 2025 sales reports from Good Food Institute, SPINS and Circana are likely to remain the next checkpoints for judging whether the plant-based meat category is tracking toward the longer-dated forecasts cited by Allied Market Research. (alliedmarketresearch.com) (gfi.org) (circana.com)