The value of the plant-based food market in Poland has already exceeded PLN 1 billion. Plant-based dairy substitutes make up more than half of this category, with milk alternatives having a strong sales position – according to a report by the Polish Vegetable Food Producers Association. Yet, with annual per capita spending of €4.23, Poland is still far behind Western countries in plant-based food consumption. The industry is hoping for state support in utilizing potential consumers.
“The plant-based market is continuously growing, however, the dynamics of this growth vary over the years. It would be difficult to expect that since 2019, when this market experienced its biggest boom, this rapid growth dynamics would be maintained. Currently, we are in the process of stabilization. There is increased competition between plant-based companies. The market verifies the products that are currently entering it, so the strongest positions remain on the shelves” – explains Karolina Centkowska, communication manager at RoślinnieJemy, in an interview with the Newseria Biznes agency.
According to the report of the Polish Association of Vegetable Food Producers “Vegetable Food Industry in Poland 2024”, the value of this market in Poland reaches PLN 1.08 billion. If sales in HoReCa, e-commerce and specialist stores are taken into account, based on manufacturers’ declarations, the value increases to PLN 1.465 billion in 2023. The attractiveness of the plant-based diet has been boosted by the coronavirus pandemic – during this period, over 20% more consumers than in previous years declared their interest in this way of eating. According to Mintel data, from August 2019 to July 2020, 13% of debuts on store shelves were plant-based products. One year earlier, it was only 6%.
“In 2023 we saw some companies and restaurants closing down. The crisis that affected the entire food market also hit the plant-based market and we are currently recovering from it, we can see a slight increase in some categories. I think we will continue to observe further stabilization, but over a long period of time, which means that there will be more products that will permanently enter the market, offering something innovative” – says the RoślinnieJemy expert.
Within the last two years, the value of the Polish plant-based food market has increased by 19%. Plant-based dairy substitutes currently make up more than half of sales – from January to June 2024, their value was PLN 657.3 million. On comparison, tofu, hummus, and vegetable spreads amounted to PLN 270 million, while meat, sausage, and fish substitutes made up PLN 168.3 million. The dominant position in sales is held by alternatives to milk, which currently constitute almost half of the retail sales value of the entire industry (45.4%). The annual sales value is now almost PLN 0.5 billion, and over the past two years (July 2021 – June 2022 vs. July 2023 – June 2024) according to NielsenIQ data, growth in this category amounted to 39%.
“Over the years, we will see a significant increase in the sales of milk substitutes. Moreover, according to information from retail chains, new milk substitutes do not take away customers from those companies that already had their products on the shelves, but they are of interest to new consumers, so I think this category has a very good chance of development. We also see more alternatives to yogurts, also cheese substitutes – these are other subcategories of dairy substitutes, whose development we will observe” – convinces Karolina Centkowska.
According to the expert, the plant-based industry still faces problems – this includes the lack of an appropriate category in the PKD (Polish Classification of Economic Activities), which de facto means a lack of state support that other food industries receive. The Polish Association of Vegetable Food Producers has applied to add the plant-based category to the PKD.
“This is just the beginning to talk about this category as a separate segment that we can define. This allows us to discuss, among other things, what taxes should apply to different product categories, or about subsidies from the state, such as the subsidies granted to every other food industry” – emphasizes the communication manager at RoślinnieJemy.
Another potential threat to the industry’s development was the proposal, seen in several EU countries including Poland, to ban the use of meat-based names for plant-based substitutes. However, according to a recent decision of the European Court of Justice, individual EU countries cannot introduce such bans.
“If such regulation came into effect, it would mean a high cost for producers and, above all, a major communication difficulty” – says Karolina Centkowska. “The market related to innovations also struggles with problems concerning the legalization of individual food ingredients. Another issue is the costs associated with producing such food. Assistance and support are definitely needed at this stage of development.”
According to the PZPŻR report, the Polish market, with annual spending of €4.23 per person, greatly deviates from the amounts spent on plant-based food, for example, in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, or Austria, where the average spending per person (€20.85) is almost five times higher than in Poland. In these countries, the plant-based diet is gaining in popularity not only due to growing environmental awareness, but also due to numerous government initiatives to promote innovation and increase the availability of plant-based food. This makes the market for these types of products much more developed in the West than in Poland.
Experts argue that in terms of consumption, we have a chance to catch up with the plant-based market leaders in the perspective of several years. This is contingent upon addressing systemic and market development barriers, without which the popularization of plant-based food will take much more time.
“Many consumers from Germany are aware of the impact of choosing such options on the environment and on what animal breeding and food production look like. We also observe dynamic development in the plant-based category in the UK. There are many countries in Europe where we can learn from, and I think that as Poland, we will also be heading in this direction” – emphasizes the communication manager at RoślinnieJemy.
Plant-based food production may also strengthen Poland’s economic position. Our country has natural conditions for agricultural production, which makes us the fourth largest food producer in Europe. The value of agricultural and food products exported from Poland in 2023 was €51.8 billion. Given the increasing number of consumers choosing plant-based products in foreign markets, the development of this export sector could be an opportunity to expand Poland’s food export.
“Already now, Polish companies operate in the export market and are expanding their markets to other countries. In Poland, we offer good quality products, produced in a good way, at a reasonable price. It would be desirable for this market to grow and our products to be as widely available abroad as possible, thus bringing benefits to Polish entrepreneurs” – says Karolina Centkowska.
