Israel’s plant-based protein market grew 13 times faster in 2020 than the animal food market, according to new data from nonprofit Good Food Institute Israel (GFI Israel). The latest market data, provided by Israeli market research firm StoreNext, was collected from all brick-and-mortar and online retail channels in the country. The data shows the plant-based protein market grew by 18.5 percent  from 2019 to 2020, while the animal food market grew by only 1.8 percent. The largest growth was in the plant-based burgers and minced or ground meat categories, with an overall growth of 57 percent, followed by plant-based schnitzel and sausages. “My estimate is that Israel is one of the fastest-growing alternative protein markets in 2020,” Nir Goldstein, Managing Director of GFI Israel, said. 

Growth in dairy alternatives

Additionally, the research shows that sales of soy-based milk products grew by 23 percent, while other plant-based milks such as rice, oat, and almond, grew by 55 percent. Overall, the plant-based dairy alternative category in Israel, including vegan cheese and yogurt, grew by 40 percent in 2020.

This post was originally published on VegNews.com.