Global: Are consumers open to substituting meat/dairy products with plant-based alternatives?

A plurality of global consumers regard a meatless diet to be healthier, with nearly half of Americans and Britons looking for vegan/vegetarian options at restaurants. But are consumers open to substituting meat/dairy products for plant-based alternatives like mock meat and non-dairy milk (almond, soy, rice, coconut)?

Latest data from YouGov Global Profiles – an audience intelligence tool – reveals that overall, nearly two in five global respondents (38%) are open to substituting meat/ dairy products with plant-based alternatives.

A few Asian markets are more likely than global audience to agree, with Vietnam (53%), India (51%) and Philippines (51%) taking the top three spots registering over half of consumers. A similar share of South African consumers (51%) expresses openness to substituting meat and dairy products with plant-based alternatives.

Germany and Great Britain are the only two European markets where consumers are more likely than global respondents to say they’re open to substituting meat and dairy products with plant-based alternatives. However, while 43% of Germans and 41% of Britons agree, a higher proportion of consumers in both markets disagree with the statement – 48% and 46% respectively.

Consumers in the US – 42% agree and 47% disagree – mirror the patterns observed in Britain and Germany. However, consumers in the neighbouring North American markets are less likely to think likewise – Mexico (38% agree vs. 35% disagree) and Canada (33% agree vs. 41% disagree).

Japan (11%) registers the lowest share of consumers who are willing to replace meat and dairy products in their diet with plant-based food. Half of Japanese consumers (52%) disagree with the statement, with only Greece (54%) and Hungary (52%) showing a similar level of disagreement.

Methodology: YouGov Global Profiles is a globally consistent audience dataset with 1000+ questions across 43 markets. The data is based on continuously collected data from adults aged 16+ years in China and 18+ years in other markets. The sample sizes for YouGov Global Profiles will fluctuate over time, however the minimum sample size is always c.1000. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from India and UAE, which use urban representative samples, and China, Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Philippines, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, which use online representative samples. Learn more about Global Profiles.

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