Forbes: Vegan Products Outsell Meat When Placed Side by Side at Supermarkets
A Meat and Dairy Industries Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM Julie Capiello, MFA Mercy for Animals
May 2018

If the meat industry wasn’t scared that vegan alternatives would take over, it should be now.

If the meat industry wasn’t scared that vegan alternatives would take over, it should be now.

While many supermarkets have a section dedicated to vegetarian and vegan alternatives, some makers of plant-based burgers and sausages want these products sold next to their animal-based counterparts in the meat section.

And guess what? When sold alongside animal-based products, vegan alternatives outsell them.

Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown told Forbes that, at some stores of a major conventional retailer, the Beyond Burger was the “number-one-selling beef patty in the meat case.” With investors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Bill Gates, Beyond Meat has refused to sell its Beyond Burger to retailers unless they have agreed to place it next to meat. Brown explains:
We made a rule that if they weren’t going to put it in the meat case, we weren’t going to sell it to them. If they put it in the meat case, they can also put it wherever else they’d like but it definitely has to go in the meat case.
When plant-based products are sold next to meat, non-vegan and vegan-curious consumers are more likely to try them. And when they do try them, they want more. This is changing the market.

Because of the interest in and demand for products like the Beyond Burger—it sold out in Whole Foods one hour after its debut—even meat-industry giants like Tyson are investing in meat alternatives.

This, of course, is great news for animals. Pigs, cows, chickens, and other farmed animals suffer horribly at factory farms. From birth to death, these innocent animals are trapped in a nightmare: crated and caged, cut and burned, and brutally killed.

The best way to help spare these animals is simply not to eat them. Fortunately, with more and more delicious plant-based products hitting the market, there’s truly never been a better time to switch to a compassionate vegan lifestyle.

---

Return to The Meat and Dairy Industries