Selling vegan? Don't talk about the climate – this factor is more important

The study, conducted by Toronto-based consultancy GlobeScan, surveyed over 30,000 people across 31 markets. It found that concerns over the carbon footprint of eating meat had declined significantly as a motivating factor relative to other factors compared to five years ago, with health concerns now the biggest factor by far.

Just 14 percent of people surveyed listed environmental concerns as the reason people chose to reduce their meat consumption, below the treatment of animals and financial considerations, which represented 15 percent and 17 percent, respectively. Way out in front was health considerations, which were the driving factor for 41 percent of the survey’s respondents.

The survey’s results echo those of similar studies released early this year. Anecdotally, it’s also hard not to see a link between such surveys and the purported ‘vegan’ backlash observed over previous years - particularly in the US - where myriad reports have emerged of people turning away from plant-based foods after a boom period during Covid.

So what can impact companies – particularly those producing plant-based meat alternatives – take from such results?

The plant-based meat alternative market is continuing to grow, albeit slower than in previous years. The global market size was valued at just over $7 billion in 2023, according to Grand View Research, and is expected to grow with a compound annual growth rate of just over 19% over the next five years. Nothing to sneeze at, but nonetheless lower than the growth rate of 21% seen in the two years to 2022, and certainly counter to the expectation of expanded growth.

Founders and investors in the sector may do well to think about how to market more to people's concerns over the health impact of a high-meat diet, of which there are many, rather than appealing to peoples’ concerns over their own carbon footprint.

In the U.S. where the backlash against many things seen as ‘progressive’ might make otherwise open-minded consumers hesitant to take part in what seems like a ‘woke fad,' a focus on health concerns may well entice more people over to plant-based diets. Though of course there's a caveat that a lot of the anti-climate backlash has also been taking place in parallel with a rejection of science-based health information.