An increasing number of consumers have turned to plant-based diets in several industrialized countries. The results of research that was conducted on a global scale to understand the food and beverage industry trends show that around 65% of consumers prefer plant-based foods. The chances are high that the influence of such foods on the food sector is likely to grow more in the coming days.
There are many reasons why consumers are motivated to opt for more plant-based foods. Here is a look at a few of these reasons.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
Weight management is a great benefit of making a shift to a plant-based diet. Several studies have shown that this approach is the best for losing and maintaining weight. Vegan foods are high in fibre and make you feel full for a longer time. This diet generally includes a lot of vegetables and fruits, which are less in calories when compared to a similar volume of other foods.
Good Health
This is one of the main reasons why consumers say they cut down on the consumption of meat and substitute it with plant-based foods. According to these people, vegan food makes them healthy and feel good physically.
Many people are aware of the fact that consumption of meat is directly associated with obesity, risk of developing many kinds of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, diabetes, and lung diseases. People with health concerns feel more motivated to eat more plant based food as it does not contain cholesterol. Further, they are high in terms of dietary and nutritional benefits. Many people who have changed to this diet also feel that it satisfies their desire to eat ‘clean’.
Environmental Benefits
Many consumers, who follow this diet, point out that their primary motivation is health concerns. However, a significant percentage of them also say that they want to eat more sustainably and at the same time be socially responsible. These people gain motivation from their environment-friendly identity and want to follow the plant-based diet to set an example for others, thus fueling the eco-friendly initiative.
Factory animal farming’s inherent resource and caloric inefficiencies will turn out to be unsustainable in the coming years. So, consumers who realise this are making the shift now so that they can contribute their bit towards conserving the environment.
Media Attention
Plant-based foods are turning out to be mainstream partially due to celebrities like Jay-Z, Ellen DeGeneres, Beyonce, Miley Cyrus, and several others. Many athletes like bodybuilders, marathoners, and NFL players commend the advantages of going vegan and how it has helped their performance.
A movie named ‘The Game Changers’ by James Cameron based on athletes who follow a plant-based diet was highly acclaimed when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. After gaining a lot of media attention in news channels, the sales of plant-based foods like the Beyond Burger and the Impossible Burger have surged.
Longer Shelf Life
Shelf stability is one of the reasons why many consumers prefer to support plant-based diets, though the other reasons mentioned above are more prevalent over this. With plant-based foods, it’s possible to store them for a comparatively longer time than animal-based foods.
All these benefits justify why many consumers gain motivation to follow a plant-based diet. When we look at beverage consumer insights of this trend, these consumers prefer to substitute milk-based beverages with black tea, green tea, black coffee, and other such drinks.
Considering all the points that we have discussed in this article, it will not be long before we can find an even higher number of people who switch to a plant-based diet.
