Pie charts - consumer social media discussions of alternative protein

Believe it or not, consumer attention to alternative protein topics follows big policy talk in Washington. Mirroring the change of administrations, we found that mainstream social media attention to alternative proteins shifted substantially in the first quarter compared with last year. After President Biden put climate policy in the spotlight, discussions of the environmental impact of food followed. Articles covering Bill Gates’ recommendation of meatless burgers (Popular Mechanics) and McMaster University research on cultivated meat (CTV News) garnered more than 12,000 shares on social media.

Channel availability remained a vigorous topic of discussion, even if the topic lost momentum from being the primary focus in 2020, when meat supply chain failures directed extra attention to the availability of alternative proteins. However, a continued string of new partnerships — such as Beyond Meat inking deals with McDonald’s and Yum! Brands — drove consumer excitement.

This content was developed in partnership with Alt-Meat, a multimedia brand covering a myriad of topics in the meat alternatives market from a business point of view. For more information, visit Alt-Meat.net.