Plant-based foods market dollar sales growth U.S. 2023, by category

In 2023, egg substitutes saw their dollar sales value shrink by five percent in the U.S. market. In the 52 weeks ending January 1, 2023, the dollar sales value growth rate of meat and seafood substitutes was at approximately minus 12 percent. Egg substitutes have the lowest dollar sales value in the market for plant-based foods. 

Plant-based food in the U.S.

Plant-based foods tend to be more expensive than their animal-based counterparts. The average price of milk, for example, is 0.64 U.S. dollars per unit, compared to 0.97 U.S. dollars per unit of milk alternatives. The average price for meat is 4.24 U.S. dollars, whereas meat alternatives are about twice as expensive. Sales of plant-based foods in the U.S. had been growing much faster in recent years than the sales of the total food retail market. While sales of plant-based foods increased by approximately seven percent per year in 2022, the total food retail had a sales growth of only 1.9 percent. However, plant-based food growth dipped into negative figures for the first time in 2023, perhaps signaling some stagnation in the market. 

Plant-based milk in the U.S.

Milk alternatives have the highest sales share of plant-based food alternatives. Plant-based milk alternatives account for approximately 15 percent of all U.S. plant-based alternative sales. By comparison, plant-based meat only accounts for 0.9 percent of all meat dollar sales. The volume of milk substitutes consumed in the United States is almost 984 million kilograms. This figure is forecast to reach over 1.3 billion kilograms in 2029. The leading milk alternative brand ranked by brand awareness in the U.S. is Silk, followed by Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze and Chobani.