Survey Reports 90% Of Fake Meat Burger Buyers Also Purchase Real Meat
The prevalence of plant-based burgers in grocery stores across the US has produced a surprisingly new trend: the majority of sales of the plant-based Impossible Burger come at the expense of animal-derived meat. That data comes from Chicago-based analytics company, Numerator. Impossible Foods' sales now position it as one of America's fastest-growing brands and the leading driver of growth in the overall plant-based food category.
There's one important stat that stands out among them all in this trend toward replacing meats with plant-based foods: 9 out of 10 people who buy Impossible Burger regularly eat animal-derived foods.
"There's a greater concern for food safety; there's been a lot more attention to how meat is produced in the media. People are trying to figure out safer ways to find what they're looking for, and plant-based meat provides not only a great increase in food safety, but also in environmental sustainability," Matt Ball, a senior communications specialist at the Good Food Institute, told Forbes.
Chicago-based analytics company Numerator analyzed consumer buying habits of the Impossible Burger in the most recent 13-week period. Here are the stats.
*21 cents for every dollar spent on Impossible Burger at brick-and-mortar grocery stores is incremental to the entire meat category (which includes plant- and animal-based meat) - in other words, Impossible Burger gets consumers to spend 21% more on all categories of meat.
*78 cents per dollar comes from consumers who are shifting their purchases to Impossible Burger from other categories of plant- and animal-based meat.
*92% of Impossible Burger sales come directly at the expense of animal-derived meats - thus, Impossible Burger is displacing animal-derived foods for 72% of total purchases.
Part of this surge has to do with changing consumer lifestyle habits during COVID-19. Global consumer research shows that the home continues to be the focus for living, working, and shopping, despite restrictions lifting. Consumers' personal situations are influencing attitudes and behavior, including levels of comfort venturing out. They are shopping mindfully and cost-consciously, with demand for local, sustainable, and value brands rising.
In essence, health, safety, and finances continue to impact consumers' attitudes and behavior, and those qualities are reflected in Impossible Burger sales. Before the pandemic, the Impossible Burger was available in fewer than 150 grocery stores. Impossible Foods' retail growth comes particularly from Americans trying Impossible Burger for the first time; the percentage of first-time customers has doubled each month since April. In the past 6 months, Impossible Burger sales have increased 77-fold and are now available at 11,000 retail locations in all 50 states, including Kroger, Trader Joe's, and Walmart. Starting this month, Impossible Burger is rolling out at nearly 1,500 Target stores nationwide.
"Three out of four Americans now live within 10 miles of a grocery store where they can buy Impossible Burger. And when people cook it at home, they start telling friends and family about it," Impossible Foods Senior Vice President for Sales Dan Greene said. "Our retail surge has become a powerful flywheel for long-term growth."
Source: CleanTechnica.com