British retailer Tesco has confirmed it is ‘highly unlikely’ to meet its previously announced target of achieving a 300% sales increase within its plant-based meat alternative ranges by December 2025.
First announced in October 2020, the target was claimed to be the first of its kind in the UK, aimed at improving the supermarket giant’s environmental footprint and reducing the impact of the broader food production sector.
It was made against a 2018 baseline figure, supported by a range of measures put in place to support Tesco in attempting to reach its goal. These included expanding the availability of plant-based meat alternatives across its stores, boosting visibility of meat alternatives and working with suppliers to bring new innovations to consumers while ‘investing in value’ to reduce affordability barriers.
Now, in its 2024/25 sustainability report published this month, Tesco has admitted it expects to miss the target, citing a year-on-year decline in the plant-based meat alternatives market resulting in slowing sales.
However, despite the slow alt-meat growth, the retailer observed growing demand for ‘protein diversity,’ noting that consumers are turning to ‘veg-led’ dishes and plant-based whole foods such as lentils, chickpeas, beans, nuts, seeds and tofu.
In its report, Tesco noted that veg-led dishes – where vegetables are ‘the star, rather than relying on meat alternatives’ – make it easier for consumers to incorporate more vegetables into their diets. It cited Circana data, showing that these foods now represent 40% of all plant-based sales.
The company emphasised its commitment to reporting its sales of plant-based proteins as a percentage of overall protein sales every year to track its progress, claiming to be the first retailer to share this information publicly when it first did so in 2021.
The news comes despite Tesco celebrating rising volume demand for meat-free products and whole cuts in 2024, selling 100,000 meat-free steaks in the lead-up to Valentine’s Day last year. Tesco plant-based food buyer Cate May described plant-based food at the time as “the biggest culinary trend so far this century,” noting significant interest from vegans, vegetarians and meat-eaters.
