July 16, 2025 – Innova Market Insights’ Top Trends 2025: Meat & Meat Alternatives – Global report explores how meat and meat alternatives continue to shape consumer diets, reflecting evolving preferences and sustainability considerations. The report presents key opportunities across both categories, from reimagining plant-based options to evaluating ingredient choices and environmental impact. Part of Innova’s Top Trends and Mega Trends series, this report combines global consumer data with product insights to uncover macro forces influencing the future of food and beverage. These reports are designed to guide brands, suppliers, and developers by identifying what’s driving consumer behavior, category evolution, and innovation across markets.
What Value Is Added by Ingredient Choices?
As consumers seek greater value, prioritizing quality beyond just ingredients becomes essential. Year-on-year growth in meat categories with high protein claims reflects this shift, and quality is the top priority for consumers when choosing food and beverage brands. Meat trends show that the claims most influencing purchasing decisions include “high in protein” or “source of protein,” which was the most prominent response. Just as seafood is driving global protein growth amid evolving market conditions and regulations, meat trends indicate a continued emphasis on nutrient density, transparency, and sustainability across both traditional and alternative protein options.
Freshness influences the purchasing decisions of consumers when buying meat and poultry. As brands are focusing on providing natural and less processed options, ensuring that meat products remain close to their original, fresh form. An example would be one brand’s 100% fresh chicken meat, which is naturally raised with a commitment to welfare and sustainability.
Elsewhere, private label meat categories are also experiencing year-on-year growth, prioritizing high quality in their messaging. This has seen a rise of store brands and original signature products that can be attributed to good value for money, easy accessibility, a variety of products, and healthier choices. In fact, many have noticed that the quality of store/supermarket brands’ products has been increasing.
What Can Precision Wellness Do for Meat and Meat Alternatives?
An information-driven culture is challenging brands to meet targeted nutritional needs at every life stage. Seen in the consistent growth of meat categories with claims tailored for children. For example, one brand has developed its own kids’ sausages that are marketed as high protein, low fat, and free from added phosphates, coloring agents, monosodium glutamate, and antioxidants.
Brands are creating innovations to address the specific health needs of consumers. Innova Market Insights noticed one brand launching a new range of high-protein chicken sausages at a major retailer, featuring options like “Original with roasted onion” and “Piri Piri flavor,” each packing 17g and 18g of protein, respectively, per two sausages.
There is a growing trend toward reductionism, which focuses on achieving balanced nutrition in meat and seafood. Meat trends show that new meat categories are showing yearly gains with claims of low or reduced calories, emphasizing additional health benefits. Some products are even low in calories while also containing essential minerals such as iodine and selenium, which support healthy thyroid function.
Innovations centered on tailored nutrition solutions through fortification are becoming more prevalent too. Research has found that the top three ways to achieve this targeted nutrition have been found in regular food and beverage options, supplements, and nutrition-fortified foods, such as traditional breaded chicken enriched with vitamins and minerals.
Can Wildly Inventive Flavors Entice Consumers?
Consumers crave the extraordinary, prompting companies to surprise them with innovative mash-ups that deliver a “wow” effect. In the report compiled by Innova Market Insights, many buyers are looking for crazy creations that provide them with the ultimate indulgent experience, and highlight the demand for bold flavors. Although this poses the question: “Which taste and texture attributes make the food and beverage experience impressive?” The answer, it would seem, is that companies are working to deliver the perfect combination that consumers desire through innovative mash-ups.
For example, a pizza-flavored sausage that exists in Germany has a limited run claim on it. This means that for the shopper in the aisles, the idea of a meal-flavored dish in the form of a snack can prove appealing from time to time. A number of consumers globally have also stated that seasonal or limited-edition flavors influence their food and beverage choices the most. There has been a notable increase in meat categories featuring limited-edition claims.
How to Explore a Cleaner Approach to Plant-Based Options
The intense buzz surrounding plant-based alternatives has quieted, leading consumers to seek real and recognizable plant options. A key barrier for plant-based products is the perceived lack of naturalness. The prevalence of too many processed or artificial ingredients has become the third most noteworthy barrier in purchasing decisions. Meat trends show a growing focus on clean label and ingredient transparency, mirroring concerns seen in the plant-based market. A British startup has undertaken the task of targeting the anti-ultra-processed food (UPF) demand with its whole-food plant protein range, made from ingredients like fava bean protein, seeds, shiitake mushrooms, and spinach.
There has also been annual growth in meat substitutes with a natural claim. These products often emphasize qualities such as being made with natural ingredients, containing substantial protein per serving, being cholesterol-free, high in nutritional value, and preservative-free.
Consumers have also shown interest in on-the-go portions and minced options within meat alternatives. As the top preferred product formats for meat substitutes include burgers, patties, and meatballs, brands are adapting well-known dishes and formats while incorporating fresh ingredients that enhance their natural appeal. This includes using 100% natural ingredients and vegetable proteins, such as peas and sunflowers.
What About Climate Adaption and Sustainability?
Brands and consumers are looking to find a balance between personal values and product choices to adapt to an ever-changing climate. According to consumers globally, price is the food and beverage (F&B) aspect that is most affected by climate change. Therefore, if the price of a product increases, consumers are likely to reconsider their choices. There are challenges ahead in trying to strike a balance between affordability and sustainability. One major supermarket retailer has introduced a blended minced meat product to meet this demand. It contains 60% beef and 40% pea protein, and not only reduces the impact on the climate but also appeals to consumers’ budgets.
Consumers are looking for food and beverage options that prioritize animal welfare, while European Union stakeholders are calling for mandatory animal welfare labeling for meat and dairy products. While retailers are joining others in banning inhumane farming practices, meat trends show a growing emphasis on ethical sourcing, with animal welfare becoming a key purchase driver. This is where innovation can potentially strike a balance.
What’s Next for Meat & Meat Alternatives?
The demand for added value within the meat and meat alternatives sector is growing, and quality will be the differentiator. Brands will have to meet the nutritional standards desired while being innovative with flavor to exceed expectations. Real, recognizable forms of natural alternatives will have to be developed to meet demand.
As regulations change and consumers become more educated on the products they buy, finding a balance between personal values and choices in products will alter purchasing trends. Meat trends reflect this shift, highlighting a growing demand for transparency, traditional preparation methods, and clean-label products. In a world that is constantly evolving, there will be a rediscovery of tradition and heritage in culinary dishes and practices that will require emphasis on authenticity and tradition.
This article is based on Innova’s Top Trends 2025: Meat & Meat Alternatives – Global report. This report is available to purchase or with an Innova Reports subscription. Reach out to find out more