Germany Vegan Cheese Market is valued at US$58.013 million for the year 2020.
This is partly substantiated by the recent findings, which state that presently the German diet is versatile, with cheese being an important component in their menu. Further consumption of meat has reportedly decreased slightly, as reported by the nutrition report of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) of Germany, which accounts for 26 % of respondents who eat meat and sausage every day.
Further, as reported by the male respondents, more and more men are giving up their daily portions of meat. For them, the proportion fell from 39 % in 2019 to 32 % currently. Plant-based alternatives to milk, yogurt, or cheese and alternative to meat are preferred by 5 % of the respondents. Further, about half (49%) of the report respondents have bought vegetarian or vegan alternatives to animal products at some point. These alternatives have been preferred more by the younger people (14 - 29 years: 61%; 30-44 years:64%). Even in households with children, the aforementioned share is 58 % higher than the average of those surveyed.
Buying Trends among Consumers
The factors which reportedly influence the proclivity of purchasing plant-based alternatives are curiosity which accounts for 75% of the respondents; 48% have been driven by concerns regarding animal welfare; 43% because they like it, and 41% make their purchase decisions because it is suitable for the climate. According to the report, 55% describe themselves as flexitarians, while the proportion of vegetarians, which is 5%, and vegans, which account for 1%, remain unaltered. Further, an interest to know whether a product is vegetarian or vegan has reportedly risen to 41% from the previously recorded 35% in 2018.
Most of the vegan population considers veganism as a lifestyle choice and not a dietary restriction. This has been substantiated by the increase in the introduction of new vegan ready-made foods by three times between 2013 -18. Moreover, between 2017-2018, 15% of global vegan food and drink product launches occurred in Germany [Source: USDA].
For instance, a Cuxhaven-based German start-up called Happy Cheeze had, in November 2018, reportedly developed an 18-month-aged plant-based cheese wheel. Later in December 2019, Legendairy Foods, a Berlin-based start-up, reportedly raised €4 million to develop cheese, among others, that have the same composition as milk but are derived from microbial fermentation and later combined these proteins with plant-based fats. Further, the organization's priority is to produce vegan cheese in response to the lack of vegan cheese options with whey protein and casein.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
Conversely, the advent of COVID-19, which albeit resulted in the closure of most shops and services, resulted in a shift from the restaurant and food service sector to food retail, simultaneously making consumers in Germany shop more consciously. Moreover, COVID-19-related lockdown measures gave rise to even more home cooking leading to a growth of online grocery shopping by 50% or even more, which earlier only accounted for 1% of the total food sale in 2019 [Source: USDA]. Thus, previously mentioned consumption tendencies and recent developments not only suggest an anticipated increase in demand for vegan cheese but also make the environment conducive to new players enabling them to enter the market, thereby facilitating a robust growth of the German vegan cheese market during the forecast period.
Key Developments
Segmentation