Turning January into Veganuary has become a popular challenge after the festive season. More and more people are focussing on a plant-based diet. Plant-based alternative products have long been part of the range in our stores. We take a look at how the market has developed in recent years.
Germany is Europe's largest market for plant-based foods. As REWE Group, we are one of the most important players - even beyond Germany's borders. For many years, we have consistently focussed on a large plant-based product range and have also held our own in Austria in a market that has been growing steadily for years.
In 2023, the market for plant-based meat and dairy alternatives in Germany grew to 2.2 billion euros. This makes it Europe's largest market for plant-based foods, according to a study by the non-profit think tank GFI Europe. The study is based on data from Circana and the CPS/GfK consumer panel.
The main drivers in recent years have been retailers' own brands. In addition, the price differences between animal-based products and their plant-based alternatives shrank significantly from 65 per cent in 2021 to 35 per cent in the first few months of last year. In addition, 30 per cent of respondents stated that they wanted to consume more plant-based alternative products.
This trend is also confirmed by a study by Green Legend, for which the opinion research institute forsa surveyed over 1,000 consumers. According to the study, a more plant-based diet is important to more than half of those surveyed. Women in particular are consciously avoiding meat.
As REWE Group, we have secured a clear pioneering position in Austria with REWE, Penny and BILLA. According to Nielsen, REWE was the No. 1 retailer in the "vegan food" category in terms of sales and revenue in 2024. With BILLA Pflanzilla, we opened Europe's first food retailers with a purely plant-based range over two years ago. Since spring 2024, REWE Voll Pflanzlich in Berlin has been setting standards with more than 2,700 vegan products. And in September 2020, Penny launched Food For Future, the first cross-group vegan own brand from a discounter.
Veganuary is an annual campaign and movement that encourages people to try a purely plant-based diet in January. The term is made up of "vegan" and "January". The aim is to sensitise people to a more conscious and sustainable consumption of food and to motivate them to try plant-based alternatives. The initiative was launched in 2014 by a British non-profit organisation and has gained popularity worldwide. During Veganuary, participants are accompanied by various support services such as recipes, nutritional plans and information about the health and environmental benefits of a vegan diet.
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