Trust in plant-based proteins is on the rise as Europe’s flexitarian population grows, the results of a new survey show. However, not all countries are on board with the shift to plant-based.

Expected to reach $160 billion by 2030, the plant-based market has grown significantly over recent years, Mintel data shows. As demand for plant-based alternatives rises, consumers are becoming increasingly trusting of these products.

According to the results of a soon-to-be-released pan-European survey, over half (52%) of Europeans trust plant-based proteins in 2023.

The research, conducted in June 2021 and 2023 by not-for-profit ProVeg International and the EU-funded Smart Protein Project, collected data on the attitudes, behaviours, and trust of 7,500 respondents across 10 European countries. The full report, which assesses consumer readiness to adopt plant-based lifestyles, is set to be launched to market on 7 November this year.

Trust of plant-based protein, cell-cultured meat, and fungi increases

As awareness about the health and environmental impact of high meat consumption grows, more than half (51%) of consumers in Europe are reducing their yearly meat intake, the research found. Over a quarter of Europeans (27%) are now following a flexitarian diet, centred around the consumption of plant-based foods with the occasional inclusion of meat and dairy products.

Up 25% from 2021, Germany has the highest share of flexitarians in Europe, at 40%, said Elsa Guadarrama, consumer and market research manager at ProVeg International, speaking at the Future of Protein Production Live in Amsterdam in October.

While meat consumption in Europe fell, trust of plant-based alternatives increased among close to half (46%) of consumers over the past three years, the ProVeg survey found. Of the sources analysed in the research, trust increased in three categories. These include, in order of growth: plant-based protein, consisting of pulses, grains, and legumes; cell-cultured protein; and fungi.

Cultivated meat controversy in France and Italy

Trust and acceptance of plant-based products varies between markets, with the greatest increases since 2021 recorded in Italy (57%), Denmark (49%), the UK (49%), and Poland (48%), the survey revealed.

The fact that trust among Italian consumers increased the most of any country included in the analysis may come as a surprise to some, given recent political events affecting the country’s cultivated meat sector.

In July this year, the Senate of the Italian Republic passed legislation banning the production and import of cell-cultured meat products in a bid to “protect national interest, food heritage, and consumers’ health”. The bill sought to render the production and sale of cultivated meat illegal, chargeable by a fine of up to $64,000.

However, in a sudden 180-degree turn, the Italian government officially withdrew the request for this bill to the European unio, reportedly in secret on 13 October, according to documents held by Italian news site Il Foglio.

This follows a similar controversial move by the French government in June this year, when France became the first EU country to ban the use of meat- or fish-like terms on the packaging of plant-based products, excluding “burger”. The proposed decree, which only applies to products made or sold in France, seeks to ban 21 meat-related terms, including “steak”, “ham”, and “butcher”, from the labels of plant-based alternatives.

According to the new ProVeg research, increased trust for plant-based alternatives was the least perceived among French consumers, at 37%.

Increased consumer trust translates to higher sales

When it comes to purchasing plant-based alternatives, trust, traceability, and consumer education are vital, Guadarrama said.

Across Europe, over half of consumers trust that plant-based proteins are safe (57%), correctly labelled (56%), and reliable (55%). Yet a similar proportion of consumers (53%) consumers do not trust that plant-based alternatives are fully traceable to their origins, the survey found.

“The traceability and integrity of [plant-based] products still need to be improved,” Guadarrama said.

The introduction of the V-Label in various countries across Europe and the UK is one best practice example of how brands can use labelling to grow consumer trust and drive sales of plant-based products, Guadarrama explained. The V-Label, which identifies foods that are vegan and vegetarian, is currently used on more than 50,000 products worldwide.

According to the ProVeg research, close to three in five (59%) consumers who increased their trust in plant-based proteins in the past three years also increased their purchase intent.

“If we want to accelerate the sale of cultivated meat in the EU market, we need to boost consumer trust,” Guadarrama said.