CHEF ERICA HOLLAND-TOLL

The end of the year always brings promises of a new start and renewed discipline: eat less sweets, go “dry”, exercise more often, attempt the Whole 30- and the list goes on.  While our big aspiration for 2021 is to just feel “normal”, we anticipate that it’s also going to be the year to move beyond Beyond. 

The marketplace is becoming increasingly saturated with plant forward versions of [insert favorite animal protein here]. Consumers are looking to dine with impact, make a lifestyle statement, or simply feed their families a little less meat. Burger King, KFC, and McDonalds were the first fast food chains to throw down in response to this trend way back in 2019 (remember that normal year?!!). Even 2020 has seen a continued rise in the number of fast food and fast casual brands getting in the game- so much so that today it’s almost impossible to dine out without seeing Impossible (a TCE client), Beyond or another meat alternative on the menu.  

I’m interested in unpacking the data driving this trend. How can we explain that we’re seeing an exponential increase in plant-based eating as we work our way down the alphabet from Boomers to Gen Z? Margarine aside, Boomers show the lowest interest in plant forward dining- averaging only around 11% interest in flexitarian leaning meals. Gen Xers make more of a wave by eating animal free dishes 1-2 times a week, with the typical Millennial going meatless 1 in 3 of their meals in a week. Gen Z, however, makes a real splash with their commitment to meat-free meals as well as their interest in the new world of ‘planternatives’. Whether demand is for milk or cheese, bacon or brats, burgers or shrimp, Gen Z is the generation that marries interest in technological advances, fastidious adherence to top trends and access to cash- even if it’s bankrolled by their parents.

To them, plant forward is not a trend, it is the norm- 35% have said they want to be meat free in the next few years while a whopping 79% of them have meatless days up to twice a week, that combined with their penchant for snack-dinner, makes them the lowest animal consumers we’ve ever seen. The market has responded with almost every major food manufacturer offering or planning to offer a plant based meat substitute.

Personally, I’ve spent a number of years coming up with various answers to the question, “how do we feed Gen Z?”.  Whether it was at Stanford where I designed forward-thinking plant-based menus to combat menu fatigue for campus dining (it’s real) or guiding my own family's herbivore (lite) diet, I am fascinated by the explosion of plant-based eating and it’s generational growth.

As chains pivot to meet the growing demand for plant-based alternatives and factories open to continually expand inventory, I can’t help but wonder what meat will mean to Generation Alpha?  Will they eschew their Gen Z parents by ordering more Double Doubles?

Or will this ‘new normal’ mean that meat takes a second seat.  I’ll let you know in a few years, but now I need to step away and make my kiddo a Beyond Breakfast sandwich- it’s Meatless Monday in my house….