turtl-story-nielsen-media-insights-the-german-market-for-plant-based-milk-and-meat-alternatives (1) comments Tracey

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NIELSEN MEDIA INSIGHTS
GERMANY
The blooming plant-based milk and meat alternatives category

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The milk and meat alternatives category has
seen double digit growth in Germany

Plant-based milk and meat alternatives
is one of the categories that has
experienced accelerated growth in the
past few years, both in terms of
consumption and when it comes to
advertising investment.
While the proportion of Germans that
are vegans (1%) or vegetarians (5%) has
remained constant for several years,
55% of German adults now consider
themselves flexitarians 1 , adopting a
primarily vegetarian diet though
occasionally eating meat / fish products
as well. It‘s this large target group that
a lot of recent innovation in plant-based
milk and meat alternatives aims to attract
and likely the segment has been a key
driving force behind the growing
category adoption:
• The plant-based milk and meat
alternatives category saw high and
constant growth already prepandemic:
cheese alternatives
grew by 31%, oats-based milk
alternatives by 66%, plant-based
yogurt alternatives by 36%, while
sales of yogurt alternatives from
other sources besides soy
increased by 122% (2019 vs. 2018) 2
• The market for vegetarian / vegan
meat alternatives grew by 80% in
2020 vs. 2019, vegetarian semi
prepared foods by 76% and
vegetarian minced meat
alternatives by 126% in the first half
of 2020 compared to same period
in the previous year 2
The category growth is matched by a
similar growth in media investment in
the plant-based milk and meat
alternatives category:
Between 2010 and 2020 the number of
advertisers grew 9,5 times and the
investment 9,8 times.
• A shift is noticeable in terms of main subcategory advertised: between 2005 –
2014 the focus was on plant-based milk alternatives, while as of 2015 the meat
alternatives sub-category dominates in terms of media investment.
• Rügenwalder Mühle played a key role in the recent meat alternatives
dominance - as of 2015 the company redirected between 90-100% of its
advertising budget to either advertising its vegan and vegetarian products or
towards campaigns promoting the brand‘s full range of classic, bio and
vegetarian products.
• The 2020 growth in investment is driven by both existing players and new
brands that have just started to advertise.
• TV was the dominant medium, accounting for 80-90% of the spend in most
years – with OOH taking 27% of the category spend in 2020
Source: Nielsen (click to zoom)

The total media investment in the category reached 66.6 Mio. Euro in 2020, a
change of +90% vs. the previous year.
Plant-based meat alternatives accounted for 65% of the 2020 media investment
(42.9 Mio. Euro), plant-based milk alternatives for 20%, with image campaign making
up the remaining 10 Mio. Euro.
BRANDS RANKING 2020
The top 10 brands in 2020 accounted for 97% of the entire market, with 5 brands
from each subcategory in the top 10. In terms of SoA though, the 5 meat alternative
brands made up 76% of the total investment, while the 5 top milk products brands
accounted for only 21%.
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EVOLUTION OF THE ADVERTISING INVESTMENT
Significant seasonal differences are noticeable between the sub-categories – with
plant-based dairy alternatives being advertised mainly in spring and fall and meat
alternatives seeing a peak in investment in the summer months.
2020 saw an investment peak in summer, with activity especially from the meat
alternatives brands promoting products suitable for grilling and capitalizing on the
increase in home cooking, driven by the pandemic.
The media investment in the category continues to grow – with Q1 2021 being
+112% than Q1 in 2020 and March 2021 the highest single month ever in terms of
media investment for plant-based milk and meat alternatives.

KEY COMMUNICATION MESSAGES
In terms of key messages, the core focus in the category is on (1) taste, (2) communicating the main ingredient or that the
product is entirely of plant origin or (3) communicating a wide range of products or dishes that can be made with the plantbased
alternative.
The key arguments used in category
communication do not completely
overlap with the reasons that people
give for adopting a plant-based
alternatives diet – especially when it
comes to climate impact and animal
welfare which are less often
represented in Above-the-Line
communication then given as reasons
behind consumer choice 1 .
Click to enlarge

RECENT COMMUNICATION EXAMPLES
Click images to play the ads.
ALPRO: Health / sugar-free formula
Rügenwalder Mühle: Health (rich in
protein), taste and climate
LikeMeat: Taste
Amidori: Variety and key ingredient (peas)
The Vegetarian Butcher: Taste & animal
welfare
Garden Gourmet: #whatevertarian (for any
type of diet)

SOCIAL MEDIA THEMES
Owned Social Media channels are used by most brand primarily to share product
launch news and provide inspiration with recipes. In Q1 a significant proportion of
posts (ca. 20%) was dedicated to Veganuary.
Engagement: Oatly encourages fans
to sign the petition against the EU
A171 initiative.
Promotions: Giveaways are often used (e.g. Simply V). LikeMeat gave away an
insulated Streetwear jacket („Nugget Pocket“), that keeps the plant-based
LikeNuggets warm for 1.5 hours on the go.
Variety / Product range:
e.g. Rügenwalder Mühle announced
the launch of a vegan Cordon Bleu.

#VEGANUARY2021
Veganuary – an initiative aiming to convince non-vegans to adopt a plant-based
diet for the month of January - saw a record number of registered participants in
2021, with 580K signatures worldwide. Interest in Veganuary is rising as well among
Germans, with searches for the term up 28,5% in 2021 vs. 2020 and the country
occupying 4th place when it comes to registered Veganuary2021 participants.
170 German companies took part in the Veganuary2021 3 , launching 116 new vegan
products and 40 new vegan menu options in participating chain restaurants (like
Subway or McDonald‘s).
Rügenwalder Mühle launched new
products and shared recipes for inspiration.
Simply V supported Veganuary participants
with weekly meal plans and product giveaways.
Owned Social Media was a key channel among the Top 10 brands in the category to
promote their own #Veganuary2021 activations – from product launches to weekly
menu plans, recipes or raising awareness of the climate benefits of adopting a
vegan diet. Ca. 70% of the January posts carried the #Veganuary2021 hashtag, with
the month accounting for 42% of all Q1 2021 posts – an average posts per day 53%
higher than in February 2021.
Sources: 1) BMEL-Ernährungsreport 2020; 2) Nielsen / GfK category sales data (2018-2020); 3) Veganuary
2021 Campaign in Review
Garden Gourmet provided sustainability
focused DIY tips and recipes for vegan
alternatives of popular dishes
(mayonnaise, pancakes).
LikeMeat launched a video featuring meatlover
Till Lindemann eating a veggie
burger, inspired by a sequence of Jørgen
Leth’s 66 Scenes from America art film,
“Andy Warhol Eating a Hamburger,”While
the video gathered a high number of views,
some of the comments were criticizing the
fit and credibility of the rockstar as
"endorser" for a vegan brand.

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