Twitter poll: would you swap a beef burger for a plant-based steak?

The poll revealed that 78% of participants would not be prepared to swap meat for a plant-based steak or burger, while only 22% said they would be willing to give it a go.

Described by many businesses as the “future of the meat industry​”, plant-based meats are beginning to creep their way into UK supermarkets to fuel the high level of demand.

Netherlands-based Vivera, which specialises in vegetarian and plant-based meal components, made its mark in the UK by introducing the 100% plant-based steak​ into 400 Tesco stores last month, claiming a supermarket first for the UK.

The launch sparked enormous demand from consumers, as Vivera revealed that its first 40,000 steak deliveries had completely sold out​ and some stores were completely out of stock within a day.

Vivera stated that they were set to boost production “faster than planned​” to keep up with demand.

One of the US’ plant-based meat giants Beyond Meat also tapped into the UK’s demand​ for alternative protein by announcing its plans to introduce its staple product, The Beyond Burger, into the UK through a distribution deal with frozen food supplier The Authentic Food Co.

Away from the UK, it seems that there is certainly demand in the Asian market for plant-based meat as Beyond Meat’s closest competitor Impossible Foods announced that it would supply its products outside the US for the very first time​ into Hong Kong. Impossible Foods confirmed to GlobalMeatNews​ that it had also confirmed plans to expand into Singapore.

On the other hand, France’s new labelling legislation​ on plant-based products could potentially dampen the plant-based surge across mainland Europe.

French MPs voted in April that producers across France would no longer be able to describe plant-based meats such as ‘sausages’ and ‘steaks’ that are not solely made of meat in bid to avoid confusion among consumers.

The alternative protein scene is certainly alive and kicking, but based on our research, there is still some uncertainty whether it has the potential to overtake the nation’s love of meat.