US plant-based sales continue to shrink. Dollar sales in the US plant-based market fell 2 percent from 2024 to 2025, totaling $7.9 billion across meat, dairy, eggs, protein powders, tofu, meals and baked goods, according to The Good Food Institute's 2026 State of the Industry Report using SPINS data. This marks the second straight year of decline, after a 4 percent drop from 2023 to 2024. Unit sales also declined 3 percent over the same period.
The decline stands in sharp contrast to global growth, where plant-based sales rose 3 percent from 2024 to 2025 to reach $28.9 billion, per Euromonitor data cited in the report.
Price and taste remain the biggest barriers
Consumer hesitation centers on two core issues. Despite higher price increases in beef and other animal-based categories, plant-based products remain priced at significant premiums to conventional counterparts. Consumer research showed that price and taste gaps were the top barriers to choosing plant-based options, the institute said. Lower consumer confidence and tariff impacts also weighed on spending across plant and animal-based categories.
Meat and seafood segment shrinks fastest
Plant-based meat and seafood generated $1 billion in 2025, but both dollar and unit sales fell sharply. Dollar sales declined 10 percent and unit sales fell 11 percent from 2024 to 2025, the report showed.
Manufacturers see an opening in format innovation and bold flavors. Shreds, chunks and strips formats grew 8 percent in unit sales, addressing a gap in product types historically underrepresented in plant-based meat and seafood. Producers also identified growth opportunities in products with added flavors such as Asian, Mexican and spicy, reflecting consumer appetite for bold taste profiles.
Plant-based milk holds largest share
Plant-based milks accounted for the largest segment, representing $2.7 billion in sales and a 13 percent share of total retail milk sales in 2025. While overall dollar sales for plant-based milk fell 2 percent from 2024, soy and coconut formats grew 4 percent and 27 percent respectively in sales.
Other segments outperformed the category average. Plant-based bars, ready-to-drink beverages, baked foods and yogurt posted the strongest growth, rising 16 percent, 12 percent, 9 percent and 7 percent respectively. Plant-based creamer generated $761 million in sales, a 2 percent increase from 2024, making it the third-largest plant-based segment.
Household engagement steady despite sales slip
The number of US households purchasing plant-based foods and the frequency of repeat purchases both remained steady in 2025 despite the dollar sales decline. The Good Food Institute found that more than half of all US adults find plant-based meat appealing and are at least somewhat likely to eat it.
For the meat and seafood segment, the institute sees room to unlock growth through increased purchase frequency. The average household that bought plant-based meat and seafood purchased it about once a month, roughly 11.7 units per year. Doubling that frequency to twice monthly could unlock roughly $1 billion in additional sales.