One of the first companies in the world to start producing plant-based protein meat, Beyond Meat, recently announced that its sales in the fourth quarter of last year fell by about 20 percent. Net sales, despite lower demand, remained at $79,9 million.

Although this loss is smaller than Wall Street's expectations, it is clear that this sector is plagued by similar problems as other parts of the food industry. The company announced that the demand for meat alternatives due to the crisis is still weak, and in response to this market situation, it will offer its products to buyers at lower prices. Meat substitutes have become very popular among consumers in the last few years, writes Politika rs.

New products appear on the market every day due to the increasing number of people giving up animal protein in their diet. A survey by the International Food Council found that 60 percent of Americans have already tried some of these products, and one-fifth regularly consume them. According to one definition, meat alternatives (products that resemble meat in appearance, taste, and smell) can be those that are produced mostly from soy protein, pea, wheat gluten, or combinations thereof.

These products include so-called cultured or artificial meat, grown from cells in a laboratory, which is currently only commercially available in Singapore.

Previous expectations are that the situation will still develop in a positive direction for this industry due to the increased interest of buyers and investors. Forecasts are that by 2029 the revenues of the world market could double and reach 12,3 billion dollars, according to the estimate of the consulting company "Fortuna Business".

However, traditional meat producers are skeptical and argue that these products fail to mimic the taste of animal meat and are likely to be purchased and consumed regularly by only a small group of consumers.