In recent years, veganism has gone mainstream and plant-based food has taken the market by storm. With 2% of people currently describing themselves as vegan, predictions suggest a continued growth among the younger population who are more actively concerned about the future of the planet. 

2020 was the year everyone discovered plant-based food, with an abundance of vegetarian/vegan options appearing in supermarkets and restaurants across the world from sausages, burgers and chicken to cheese, milk and even eggs. 

However, there’s still 98% of the population that are yet to be persuaded to adopt a full vegan diet. So, could flexitarianism and hybrid foods be the answer to bridge the gap between the two markets?

Flexitarianism

Flexitarianism (or semi-vegetarian) is an increasingly popular diet which is primarily centered around plant based foods, with the occasional inclusion of meat products. The diet claims to reduce your carbon footprint as well as improving your overall health without fully restricting yourself, making it a more attractive diet than veganism or vegetarianism.

Hybrid foods 

Although there is an increasing interest in lowering meat consumption, drastically changing your diet is not an easy task. To accommodate this issue, hybrid foods have recently entered the market – containing a blend of both animal ingredients (meat or dairy) and plant-based ingredients. 

Large retailers such as Aldi, Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s have now introduced hybrid foods to their shelves, catering for those who wish to reduce, but not eliminate, their meat and dairy intake.

Companies within the meat sector are now starting to produce their own hybrid foods, after seeing the potential for the hybrid food industry to evolve significantly over coming years.

So, could hybrid foods be the answer to protecting the planet, improving the overall health of the population as well as keeping meat eaters happy?