Plant-based meat was supposed to revolutionize our diets—ethical, eco-friendly, and backed by billions in venture capital. But five years after its media peak, the alt-protein sector is facing a harsh reality check. Former darlings like Beyond Meat and Meati Foods are bleeding cash, investors are backing away, and consumers are shifting their focus elsewhere. Has the hype cycle simply run its course—or was the promise of meat alternatives fundamentally flawed from the start? As the industry contracts, a smaller but more realistic future is beginning to take shape. Here’s where the next chapter begins.
Trend Snapshot / Factbox
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Trend name and brief definition | Plant-based meat alternatives: products designed to replicate meat using non-animal ingredients |
| Main ingredients or key components | Pea protein, soy, mycoprotein, fungi-based proteins, wheat gluten, fermentation-based inputs |
| Current distribution (where can you find this trend now?) | Supermarkets, fast food chains, restaurants, B2B caterers (declining in some regions) |
| Well-known restaurants or products currently embodying this trend | Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, Quorn, The Vegetarian Butcher, Loma Linda |
| Relevant hashtags and social media presence | #PlantBased, #AltProtein, #VeganMeat, #MeatlessMonday, #Flexitarian |
| Target demographics (who mainly consumes this trend?) | Millennials, Gen Z, vegetarians, vegans, flexitarians, sustainability-driven consumers |
| “Wow factor” or special feature of the trend | Imitation of texture, flavor, and appearance of real meat without animal products |
| Trend phase (emerging, peak, declining) | Declining (mass market), stabilizing (niche and B2B) |
The Rise and Crash of a Dream
Between 2016 and 2021, plant-based meat wasn’t just a niche—it was the future. Investors poured billions into startups promising ethical, scalable alternatives to industrial meat. Beyond Meat went public. Mycelium, fungi, and fermentation became buzzwords. The cultural moment arrived—and then, it began to unravel.
By 2024, cracks in the plant-based protein movement became increasingly visible. In October, Berlin-based Bosque Foods, once valued for its fermentation-forward mycoprotein innovations, filed for insolvency. A few months later, Atlantic Natural Foods, producer of Loma Linda and Tuno, collapsed after a failed sale. In May 2025, Beyond Meat announced further revenue losses, more than $1 billion in debt, and an emergency $100 million cash injection just to stay afloat.
And these weren’t isolated incidents. A global cascade of collapses followed, underlining how fragile the business models behind many of these companies truly were. Collapse Timeline (selected cases 2024 – 2025):
– Meati Foods (USA): From $650M valuation to near-liquidation at $4M; major layoffs expected
– Bolder Foods (Belgium): Shut down after failing to raise funds for its mycelium-based MycoVeg line
– Atlantic Natural Foods (USA): Filed for bankruptcy after a failed acquisition by Above Foods
– Beyond Meat (USA): Declining revenue, $1B debt load, emergency funding to stay liquid
– Unilever – The Vegetarian Butcher (Netherlands): Announced intent to sell the brand after weak performance
– Sundial Foods (USA): Closed; IP sold to an unnamed European buyer
– Suzy Spoon’s Vegetarian Butcher (Australia): Preparing to close due to falling revenue and rising costs
– BurgerFi (USA): Fast food chain offering Beyond Burgers filed for bankruptcy in September 2024
– Sunfed Meats (New Zealand): Shut down after investor confidence evaporated
– Bosque Foods (Germany/USA): Insolvent in Germany, with focus shifted to US operations
From inflated valuations to overproduction and unmet consumer expectations, the plant-based meat industry is undergoing a dramatic contraction. The gold rush is over—and now the survivors are left to rethink everything.
Consumers Have Moved On
Behind the investor panic is an even more fundamental shift: the average consumer is no longer convinced.
In the early days, buying plant-based meat felt like joining a food revolution. But now, many consumers express “plant-based fatigue.” Price has always been a hurdle—alternative meats can still cost double the price of real meat—but now even taste and texture are under scrutiny. While vegan loyalists remain enthusiastic, casual flexitarians are drifting back to real meat or pivoting toward unprocessed options.
Today’s food-savvy shoppers are prioritizing ingredient transparency and minimal processing. Products built on methylcellulose, stabilizers, and extruded protein isolates feel less like innovation and more like over-engineering. The rise of “whole food” preferences has left many plant-based meats on the wrong side of the health narrative.
Importantly, the market isn’t disappearing. Gen Z remains more climate-conscious than any generation before it. Vegans still shop their values. But the idea that plant-based meat would replace conventional meat in the mainstream? That bubble has burst.
The Industry Retreats—and Regroups
The shift in consumer demand has rippled up the supply chain, forcing companies large and small to reassess.
Unilever plans to divest The Vegetarian Butcher, citing stagnating demand. Nestlé quietly ended its support of Sundial Foods, whose innovation in structured vegan cuts failed to gain traction. In Belgium, Bolder Foods couldn’t secure follow-up funding and closed entirely.
Across the board, startups are downsizing, merging, or selling off intellectual property. This is not a collapse of innovation—it’s a recalibration of ambition. Fermentation-based proteins, mycoprotein solutions, and microbial fat technologies still hold promise. But they’re no longer being positioned as global revolutions. Instead, they’re seeking use cases in foodservice, ingredients, or licensing.
As funding dries up, the industry is returning to reality: no more unicorn valuations, no more overnight IPO dreams.
A Future Built on Niche, Not Mass Appeal
To survive, plant-based meat has to stop pretending it’s the new meat—and start acting like a premium alternative.
There are still clear opportunities: institutional catering, climate-forward corporate canteens, and B2B applications like pre-prepared meals. These are spaces where ethics matter more than margins, and where plant-based products can be evaluated on taste, consistency, and sustainability—not cost alone.
Consumers who remain engaged in this category are evolving too. They expect more than novelty. They want traceability, functional health benefits, and authentic storytelling. Companies that understand this—those who prioritize credibility over scale—may still win.
What we’re seeing is not a collapse, but an industry growing up. A once-explosive market is now sobering up, shrinking, and stabilizing. And in doing so, it might finally find its long-term role in the food system.
From Boom to Reality Check
Alt-meat isn’t dead. It’s simply no longer pretending to be a revolution. As startup closures mount and corporate giants withdraw, what’s left is a leaner, more focused industry with clearer goals.
For food professionals and investors alike, this reset may be exactly what was needed. With fewer illusions, more honesty, and a sharper eye on quality over hype, the plant-based meat sector might finally become what it was always meant to be: not a replacement, but an alternative.