Market potential of new plant-based protein alternatives: Insights from four US consumer experiments

This article reports results from four studies determining the US market potential for plant-based meat alternatives in different contexts and settings. The first study shows that a pair-wise choice between beef and a plant-based alternative was not significantly affected by the presence of nutrition facts panels or ingredient lists. A second study, framed as a food service meal choice, reveals that the introduction of a plant-based burger has roughly the same effect on beef sales as does the presence of a chicken wrap. The final two studies estimate own- and cross-price elasticities of retail demand. We find small cross-price elasticities between plant-based patties and ground beef. Each of the aforementioned results varies for regular meat consumers as compared to consumers who self-identify with an alternative diet such as flexitarian, vegetarian, or vegan. Combined, this study increases understanding of the impact presented by plant-based offerings in the US protein market.