A report published by Blue Horizon and BCG forecasts that by 2023, plant-based meats should be level with the cost of conventional animal-based products. Mid-way through the year, it is predicted that plant-based will then become cheaper than animal-based. So what does this mean for consumers? Well, it means plant-based meat products should be cheaper than conventional animal-based products as soon as next year, and by the end of the decade, considerably cheaper. Further decline is forecast for the foreseeable future.
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What is driving lower costs?
The driving forces for lower cost animal-based meat products is down to a variety of factors:
• Continuing reduction in plant-based meat production costs.
• Increase in input costs. Input costs are the set of costs incurred to create a product or service. Examples of these costs are direct materials, direct labor, and factory overhead.
• Labour issues at meat-packer plants.
• Higher worker wage rates.
• Supply chain interruptions.
• Price instability in the conventional meat supply chain - In 2021, beef, chicken and pork saw double digit price increases compared to the same week in 2020. Plant based meat prices remained stable.
• Several companies such as Trader Joe’s, Lidl, Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat all made announcements regarding the price of their plant-based products.
If you’re a plant based product lover, this is great news. If not, perhaps affordable plant-based products can open up an exciting new avenue to dip your toes into. Either way, it looks like plant-based products are here to stay. Plus, a decrease is great for both consumers and the planet.