New data on alternative protein consumer awareness shows a clear gap: Americans are curious, but they are not buying.
The Good Food Institute’s Consumer Snapshot surveys thousands of U.S. adults each year. It tracks familiarity and purchase intent across four categories: plant-based meat, cultivated meat, mycoprotein, and precision-fermented dairy. Shoppers say they want to try these products. But trial interest and actual purchase intent do not match up.
TLDR
- Plant-based meat is familiar; cultivated meat and mycoprotein are not.
- Trial interest is high, but purchase intent consistently lags behind.
- What a product is called directly shapes consumer trust.
Two Tiers, Two Different Problems
The data reveals two tiers in alt-protein. Plant-based meat is the mature category. Consumers know it, retailers stock it, and the vocabulary is settled.
However, cultivated meat, precision-fermented dairy, and mycoprotein face a different challenge. Most U.S. consumers have low familiarity with these categories. The words brands use to describe these products shape whether shoppers trust them or walk past them.
In short, on-pack language and shelf signage are sales tools for these newer categories. They are not branding afterthoughts. Manufacturers should treat naming and description decisions with the same rigor as pricing strategy.
What This Means for Retailers and Suppliers
For retailers, the key signal is the gap between trial interest and purchase intent. Consumers say they will try alt-proteins. But price, availability, and unfamiliar preparation hold them back. Demand forecasting should account for this gap before expanding shelf space or committing to new supplier partnerships.
Specifically, precision fermentation and mycoprotein producers may find foodservice and ingredient channels easier to enter first. An unfamiliar category name carries less risk in those settings than it does on a retail shelf. Suppliers entering those conversations can use GFI’s benchmarks as a credible third-party reference in buyer meetings.
The full Consumer Snapshot reports are free through GFI’s resource library. For more on these trends, see our alternative protein coverage.
Source: vegconomist.com
