According to an internal survey conducted by the Utkonos Online grocery delivery service, Russians are increasingly interested in various vegan alternatives to meat.
Utkonos reports that in 2021, the sales of meat alternatives have grown by more than 200%. The year-on-year dynamic looks even more impressive: the current sales are four times higher than in 2020.
Among other factors, the growth in demand has been prompted by a wider availability of plant-based options. Utkonos alone offers more than 100 products in this category.
The sales are not exactly impressive though. In Q3 2021, Russians bought around 10 tons of plant-based meat products, including sausages, etc.
Food mimicking meat has become popular not only among vegetarians but also among people carefully watching their diet. Russian food supplier EFKO has also reported higher interest in meat alternatives in the country.
“We have noted serious increase in demand for plant-based meat alternatives,” comments EFKO CEO and Healthy Innovation co-founder Sergei Ivanov.
He said that the higher demand for vegan meat had been earlier prevented by lower availability of these products and the lack of knowledge about the production process.