\nThe numbers coming out of the United States\u2014sales down 17%, Beyond Meat\u2019s stock value plummeting, Impossible Foods announcing layoffs\u2014paint a clear but narrow picture. They describe an American moment for the vegan industry, not its global fate<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
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When food becomes politics<\/h2>\n
In the US, the collapse of the veggie burger is, above all, a cultural story. Meat has turned into a political symbol in the Trump era, and vegan alternatives have become collateral damage in a wider identity war<\/strong> that has little to do with taste or nutrition. When the Secretary of Health toasts with raw milk at the White House and conservative influencers turn the \u201ccarnivore diet\u201d into a patriotic badge, it\u2019s obvious the debate has moved from the plate to the battlefield of belonging<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Food choices have become statements<\/strong>. Eating a veggie burger no longer just means trying something new. It means taking sides. And in a country where the myth of the cowboy collides with the rhetoric of \u201cMake America Great Again,\u201d the outcome was predictable.<\/p>\n The real strategic mistake of US companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods was to underestimate this dynamic. They built their brands around rational arguments\u2014sustainability, health, innovation\u2014in an environment that had become profoundly irrational. The result was a fatal disconnect between message and audience<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Across the Atlantic, the picture looks entirely different, and the numbers speak for themselves. Europe isn\u2019t fighting a culture war over what\u2019s on the plate. Here, the transition is economic, not ideological<\/strong>.<\/p>\n France: +8.8% growth in plant-based sales in 2024. These data aren\u2019t signs of a passing trend. They mark the consolidation of a mature market<\/strong>. In Europe, plant-based eating isn\u2019t an identity threat; it\u2019s an expansion of choice.<\/p>\n Italy\u2019s growth is especially telling: it proves that flexitarianism<\/strong>\u2014a pragmatic approach that integrates rather than replaces\u2014works when it\u2019s free from ideological barriers. 38% of households buying plant-based deli products aren\u2019t militant vegans. They\u2019re ordinary consumers who have simply normalised these foods as part of their everyday routine.<\/p>\n A key reason behind the transatlantic divergence is pricing. In the US, veggie burgers have stayed stubbornly premium, often twice the cost of conventional meat. In Europe, supermarket private labels have democratised access, making vegan options affordable and scalable.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not a technicality, it\u2019s a strategic turning point. The vegan sector can either remain a niche for the ideologically motivated or become a mainstream alternative<\/strong>. European data suggest the latter path is far more sustainable.<\/p>\n According to Coop\u2019s 2025 Report<\/a>, beef sales are slightly down (-0.9%), while plant-based deli foods are up a striking 20.9%. It\u2019s not a radical replacement but a slow rebalancing of the grocery basket\u2014driven by price as much as by environmental awareness.<\/p>\nEurope\u2019s quiet resilience<\/h2>\n
\nGermany: +7.1% in volumes.
\nItaly: 15 million households buying plant-based products, a 59.3% penetration rate and a 10% increase in purchase frequency (YouGov Shopper).<\/p>\nThe price factor<\/h2>\n
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