The preference for predominantly plant-based diets in Spain is decreasing. If between 2019 and 2021, veggies – the sum of vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians – had added 1,300,000 more people, in the last two years they have lost 600,000 followers, almost half, – especially flexitarians (those who have a diet eminently plant-based, but occasionally consume meat or fish) -, which in electoral terms would be considered a total failure. In 2023, 11.4% of the Spanish adult population identifies as veggie (13% in 2021), which represents 4.5 million veggie consumers over 18 years of age, according to data from the The green revolution 2023 report that the Lantern consultancy prepares every two years.
As read in this report, the reasons for this decline must be sought in the fact that “the pandemic and confinement increased the population’s awareness of health, the environment and animals. The end of these ‘exceptional’ circumstances “seems to have had a ‘rebound effect’ on the population, eager for pleasure and enjoyment in every sense, including their diet.”
In any case, if the focus is opened, since 2017 the veggie movement has gone from including 7.8% of the Spanish population to 11.4% in 2023. But with these figures it is clear that omnivores continue to be the majority, a 88.5% and therefore the large bag from which the vegetarian phenomenon has to fish. And here things get interesting.
With these figures, Spain is at the bottom of Europe, along with France and Italy, and very far from countries like Austria, Germany and the Netherlands, where veggies already represent a third of the adult population. In any case, there are also differences between Spaniards, French and Italians. Thus, while in France flexitarians are 24%, in Italy they are only half, 12%. On the other hand, there are six times more vegans in Italy (6%) than in France (1%). In this sense, it is almost certain that the gastronomic and culinary culture of these countries works against the adoption of vegetarian dietary guidelines.
Despite not defining themselves as flexitarians, 44% of Spaniards who declare themselves omnivores say they try to reduce their meat consumption, especially red meat. Specifically, 27% try to reduce the consumption of red meat, compared to 17% who reduce the consumption of all types of meat. At the opposite extreme, we find a group of consumers who declare that they love meat and consume it almost every day, and which represents 12% of omnivores.
That means that there are 56% of people who are not reducing their meat consumption. The main reason, says the report, is that this segment of the population likes it (62% of non-reductionists), but the message is also getting through, believing that eating meat is compatible with both health (39%). as with respect for the environment and animals (32%). In other words, for a large sector of the population, the message that an omnivorous diet is incompatible with health, sustainability and animal rights is not getting through.
The veggie world is not homogeneous and can basically be divided into three large groups. On the one hand there are the flexitarians, who are the most numerous. 9% of Spaniards consider themselves as such, 1.8 points less than two years ago, when they reached 10.8%. Currently, in Spain, 3.5 million people declare that they follow a flexitarian diet, because they believe that eating everything is good and that this diet helps them take care of their weight.
Then there are vegetarians, those people who do not consume meat or fish, but do include some byproduct of animal origin in their diet, such as milk, eggs or dairy products such as cheese or yogurt. According to this study, there are about 550,000 Spaniards who declare themselves vegetarians and it is the only group that has grown – more than 20% – compared to 2021. Finally, vegans – those who do not consume anything of animal origin – are only 0 .7% of the population, about 276,000 people – more or less the same people who voted for the PNV in the July elections of this year -, 0.1% less than in the last edition, in 2021, of The green revolution .
The heterogeneity between these three groups is not only shown in those foods that they include in their dietary pattern, but also in the reasons that each of them has for adopting it. Thus, while for flexitarians the most important thing is health (62%), animal welfare is the most important thing for vegetarians and vegans (74%), while only 35% of those who consume meat or fish occasionally do so for this cause, the second in its order of priorities, and at the same level as concern for the environment (34%).
On the other hand, the flight of personnel from the veggie world has a clear gender component. In 2021, the proportion of women and men members of the vegetarian conglomerate was almost the same: 13.2% of women and 12.9% of men. But in 2023 things are very different and the proportion of men has fallen to 9.7%. According to the authors of the study, the cause may lie in the fact that “women adhere to this diet with more conviction than men because they prioritize health more.”
A decrease in people participating in diets mainly based on plant products had to have an impact on the market for vegetarian alternatives that have appeared in recent years and to which the food industry has devoted itself with zeal. In this way, “in the last year, only plant alternatives to milk and yogurt have maintained their growth. The rest of the categories from plant alternatives to meat, such as fish, cheese or ice cream, have fallen in sales volume, according to Nielsen IQ data as of June 2023,” the report reads.
This is especially true for plant alternatives to meat, which have suffered “a drop of 3.4% in value and 7.8% in volume this last year, standing at 114 million euros and 8,848 tons sold respectively” . The situation is especially bloody in some subcategories whose products fall sharply in volume: vegetable alternatives to sausages, (-42%), and minced meats (-37%). In contrast, the ‘strips’, with 17 million euros in sales, have been growing for two consecutive years at a rate of 48% in volume and 46% in value.
In this sense, it must be taken into account that the market response to this new business opportunity “has focused on the development of imitations of foods of animal origin such as hamburgers, sausages and nuggets. The consumer’s motivation has never been that of eat imitations of meat, but eat more vegetables. Let’s not forget that flexitarians, the bulk of the market, have no problem eating meat or fish occasionally. Additionally, these new products, in these first years, have not met the minimum expectations for that they were successful,” they explain from Lantern.
As if this were not enough, “the taste and texture of the products, despite having improved significantly, is still not fully satisfactory, especially when they focus on extremely indulgent categories.” Another important issue is nutritional quality, and according to the study, among the plant alternatives “there are no products that nutritionally improve, at least, those they try to imitate and replace.”
In this sense, another thing that this study – the best and most extensive carried out in Spain on the veggie world – highlights is that the messages and positioning of the brands that occupy this niche are generally focused on a single topic, the impact on sustainability, something that – at the moment – is not so relevant for the consumer, “nor is it differential when all brands say the same thing.” On the other hand, there remains the component of credibility on the part of the average consumer, who finds it difficult to understand why an ultra-processed product with unknown ingredients is more sustainable than eating meat.
Finally, in addition, the rise in the costs of raw materials due to the general increase in prices throughout the world has put even more pressure on products, which were already noticeably more expensive than those they are trying to replace. . “Therefore – conclude the authors of the study – we have been giving few arguments for change to the consumer. A less tasty product, which is not better nutritionally and is more expensive, represents a losing equation. Furthermore, focusing the discourse on something that is still not relevant and is difficult for the consumer to understand.”
