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Plant Protein in Store: 7 Misconceptions Among Retailers
By Romain Balès and Dexter Oelrichs
When it comes to plant protein, conversations with retailers often run into the same certainties: customers do not want it, it costs more, meat would have to come off the shelves. The figures say something else, and sometimes the opposite of what you would expect. Here are seven misconceptions, checked against public data.
1. "Customers don't want it"
That is inaccurate: a large share of French consumers say they want to eat less meat, but intention does not turn into purchases on its own.
According to a ProVeg International survey cited by INRAE's journal Productions Animales, 57% of French consumers say they reduced their meat consumption over the past year, and around a quarter describe themselves as flexitarian. The reasons they give are first health, then animal welfare and the environment.
When the offer follows, sales follow too. After aligning the prices of its plant-based alternatives with those of equivalent animal products, Lidl reported an increase of more than 30% in sales of those products.
What it means for a retailer: demand exists, but it depends on price, shelf position and the quality of the offer. That is exactly where the retailer has control.
2. "Meat consumption is falling on its own"
That is wrong in the short term: in France, meat consumption rose in 2025.
According to the Agreste and FranceAgriMer summary published in July 2026, total meat consumption grew by 1.3% in 2025, after a 2.3% rise in 2024, reaching nearly 86 kg carcass weight equivalent per person. The mix is changing, with poultry growing at the expense of beef, but total volume is not falling.
Public policy points the other way: France's National Strategy for Food, Nutrition and Climate, published in February 2026, recommends moderating meat consumption.
What it means for a retailer: the gap between stated intentions (misconception 1) and actual purchases shows that the transition will not happen spontaneously. The shopping environment matters.
3. "Plant-based always costs more"
That is no longer true everywhere: in several countries, plant-based alternatives are already at the same price, or cheaper.
In the Netherlands, a ProVeg Netherlands study published in August 2026 compared 294 products across nine retailers: in 53% of comparisons, the plant-based alternative was cheaper per kilo than the cheapest animal equivalent. In Germany, Lidl aligned the prices of its plant-based brand with those of comparable animal products. Aldi Netherlands states that its plant-based alternatives are always the same price as, or cheaper than, their animal equivalent.
Price therefore depends mostly on the retailer's policy and the weight of its own brand, not on whether a product is plant-based. And dried pulses remain among the cheapest protein sources on the shelf.
What it means for a retailer: price parity on its own brand is one of the most direct levers, and one of the easiest to measure.
4. "Plant protein means the meat-alternatives aisle"
That is a very partial view: in France, most plant protein comes from bread, pasta and cereals.
According to a French Senate report, cereals provide 50 to 60% of the plant protein eaten in France. Pulses provide a little over 10%, nuts and oilseeds 5 to 10%, and fruit and vegetables 5 to 10%. Meat alternatives are only a small part of the total.
A retailer's protein ratio therefore depends as much on bakery, grocery and dried pulses as on the vegetarian aisle. That is also why the Protein Tracker counts every food product, not only protein sources.
What it means for a retailer: the levers are in almost every aisle. Pulses, still little eaten and very rich in protein, offer the most room for progress.
5. "Improving the ratio means delisting meat"
That is wrong: most levers are about adding, blending or presenting better, not removing.
Hybrid products are a good example. According to Foodvalley, almost every Dutch supermarket now sells meat products enriched with plant protein. In Belgium, Colruyt sells at its butcher counter a mince made of 60% beef and 40% fava bean flour. The Protein Tracker takes these reformulations into account: a product in which 10% of the animal protein has been replaced by plant protein moves the ratio.
Other levers follow the same logic: price parity, placing alternatives next to meat, better-balanced promotions, own-brand recipes.
What it means for a retailer: the ratio truly improves when plant-based purchases replace animal ones, not only when they are added on top. We explain this nuance in Selling More Plant-Based Products Is Not Enough.
6. "A competitor with a higher ratio is doing better"
Not necessarily: two published ratios often do not measure the same thing.
In Germany, REWE and PENNY publish a plant share of 54%, while Lidl France publishes 15%. These figures cannot be compared: the first covers the volumes of the whole range, fruit, vegetables and grains included, the second only protein sources under the WWF methodology.
Before any comparison, check the methodology, what the figure measures and the scope covered. We compare European publications in Protein Ratio: Where Do European Retailers Stand in 2026?.
What it means for a retailer: the only meaningful comparison is first with yourself, year on year, using the same methodology.
7. "Publishing your ratio exposes you"
It is the opposite: a precise, explained figure protects you better than a vague message.
In the Netherlands, supermarkets publish their ratio every year in a joint report, including when they have missed their intermediate targets. Transparency has become the sector norm, not a risk.
The European framework points the same way. The EU's EmpCo Directive, applicable since 27 September 2026 (its transposition into French law is still pending), makes generic messages such as "responsible range" riskier, and requires environmental claims to be precise and verifiable. We explain how to publish in Publishing Your Protein Ratio Without Greenwashing Risk.
What it means for a retailer: nothing requires you to publish, but a retailer that publishes a precise figure with its methodology takes less risk than one that communicates without a figure.
Conclusion
Most of these misconceptions share one thing: they assume the protein transition happens with consumers, out of the retailer's reach. The figures show the opposite. The intentions are there, consumption is not falling on its own, and the levers that make the difference (price, shelf position, recipes, range) are in the retailer's hands.
The first step is still to know where you start from. Altera Food Initiative calculates retailers' protein ratios free of charge, under the Protein Tracker and the WWF methodology. Discover the tool · Contact us
Sources
INRAE Productions Animales, Viande ou alternatives : la qualité et la durabilité au cœur des choix des consommateurs flexitariens, 2026 (ProVeg International survey, 2024).
https://productions-animales.org/article/view/9740
vegconomist, Albert Heijn Named Most Vegan-Friendly Supermarket in Belgium, 2024 (effect of Lidl's price parity).
Agreste and FranceAgriMer, Consommation de viande en France en 2025, summary, July 2026.
https://www.franceagrimer.fr/sites/default/files/2026-07/SYN-VIA-Conso%20viande%20Fce2025_0.pdf
Pleinchamp, En 2025, la consommation de viande des Français a augmenté de 1,3 %, July 2026 (per-person consumption, national food strategy).
Protein Production Technology, Plant-based alternatives now cheaper in 53% of Dutch supermarket comparisons, 21 August 2026 (ProVeg Netherlands study).
top agrar, Lidl gleicht die Preise für Veganes an Fleisch an (Lidl's price alignment in Germany).
Green Protein Alliance and ProVeg Netherlands, The Protein Tracker: National Supermarket Protein Split 2025, March 2026 (Aldi Netherlands pricing policy, reformulations, annual publication).
French Senate, information report Protéines et alimentation, 2025 (sources of plant protein eaten in France).
https://www.senat.fr/rap/r24-708/r24-708_mono.html
Foodvalley, Plant-enriched meat conquers Dutch supermarkets, April 2026.
https://foodvalley.nl/en/plant-enriched-meat-conquers-dutch-supermarkets/
Green Queen, Belgium's Supermarkets Are the Latest to Champion Blended Meat, September 2025 (Colruyt's blended mince).
https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/blended-meat-hybrid-beef-vlees-belgium-colruyt-lidl/
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