For a long time, meat substitute products were significantly more expensive than the original products. But discounters have reduced prices and are also working on significantly expanding their range.
The discounter Lidl has rearranged: vegan products are now part of the usual range – and they have become cheaper. The discounter has adjusted the price of almost its entire range of vegan own brands to comparable animal products – for individual products this means price reductions of up to 36 percent. Lidl offers more than 100 products under its own brand “Vemondo”, as well as a further 650 vegan products under other brand names.
Meat and plant-based alternatives should have the same chance of ending up on the plate. “This way we can generate new customers who want to try something new,” says Christoph Graf, purchasing manager at Lidl. The discounter has the so-called flexitarians in mind as a new target group: people who do not completely, but largely, abstain from meat.
After Lidl’s price changes, the competition didn’t take long to arrive. At Aldi, customers have also been able to find reduced prices for plant-based products from its own brand “My Vay” since the end of October. Aldi has a similarly large range as Lidl. The discounts are up to 20 percent. Penny, Rewe’s discount store brand, also followed suit with its “Food for Future” brand products.
Many people only eat meat occasionally
For Karsten Kilian, brand strategist and lecturer at the Würzburg-Schweinfurt University of Technology, the price reductions make sense: “A discounter cannot survive on two percent vegans.” The group of flexitarians has now grown to 43 percent. Kilian sees “a lot of customer potential” here. The price reductions would also bring growth in sales of the remaining range. “Once we’re in the store, we’ll do the rest of our shopping there too.”
The new target group sits in Kilian’s lecture hall. Student Sani has been vegan for almost two years. “It was a smooth transition from vegetarian to vegan,” she says. Jana has also long since discovered vegan alternatives: “I only eat meat when I visit my parents at home.” And Marco, who likes to eat meat, says that only the prices have deterred him from trying substitute products.
Curiosity, climate and animal protection as motivation
The Federal Government’s 2023 Nutrition Report shows that it is primarily those between 14 and 25 years old who turn to plant-based alternatives. And motivated by the children and young people, many parents are also open to this diet. The nutrition report also shows that people choose meat substitute products primarily out of curiosity, namely 73 percent. Climate and animal welfare are an argument for 63 percent of buyers.
Lidl wants to see double-digit growth in its vegan range. In the spring, the discounter received the Vegan Food Award 2022 from the animal rights organization PETA for its own vegan brand “Vemondo” in the “Best Vegan Range” category. Tobias Schalyo, Corporate Responsibility Manager at PETA Germany, calls the price adjustment an “exemplary rethink to enable many people to shop vegan and animal-friendly in times of high food prices.”