Plant-protein diets have been heavily promoted in recent years as traditional meat producers and dairy companies all over the world look for ways to extend product lines as well as to excite consumers with nutritional, healthy and premium food and drink products.

While ethical claims are still niche and have a long way to go in China, brands and companies could highlight the better taste and nutrition of innovative plant-based meats empowered by advanced technology. Innovative plant-based meats need to compete to alter consumers’ existing perceptions of soy-based meat alternatives.

After the COVID-19 outbreak, consumers’ are expressing raised interest in boosting their immunity to improve healthfulness, and this presents opportunities for plant-protein food and drink to be positioned as a clean and natural remedy.

• Impact of COVID-19 on plant-based dining habits and key trends to watch in the post-COVID-19 period

• Investigating the usage and perception of traditional soy-based meat alternatives

• Exploring the interest and expectation of innovative plant-based meat alternatives

• Reimagined functionality of plant-protein drinks

• Marketing to the general public in the foodservice sector

This Report covers consumers’ attitudes towards plant-based diets and consumption behaviours. ‘Plant-based diet’ here includes food and drink in both retail, foodservice and the on-trade channels that have been derived from a plant or vegetable source, such as beans, chia, hemp, canola, potato, pumpkin, rice, soy, and wheat, as well as others.

In China, plant-based meat includes:

• Soy-based chicken

• Soy-based meat ball

• Soy-based steak

• Soy-based ribs

• Soy-based duck

• Soy-based abalone

• Soy-based goose meat

• Soy-based cod

Additionally, traditional soy-based meat is sometimes referred to as mock meat which is shaped into various forms to mimic real meat while innovative plant-based meat usually refers to produce made from extracted plant protein, spices and binding ingredients to mimic properties found within natural meat.

Plant-protein drinks (PPDs) refer to all types of plant-based protein drinks including soy, rice, nut (eg peanuts, almonds), grain (oats, quinoa, corn), seed (eg flaxseeds, chia seeds), and coconut-based drinks in both retail and on-trade channels. In previous years, Mintel’s Plant-based Diets/Plant-protein Drinks reports primarily focused on plant-protein drinks. For 2020, Mintel shifts its focus onto plant-based meat to provide broader coverage and understanding of plant-based diets in China’s market.