Tesco has retired its goal to increase sales of meat alternatives by 300% by 2025 amid a wider market decline, but has pledged to keep innovating in this space while also championing plant-based whole foods.
In its 2026 sustainability report, the UK’s largest retailer has officially abandoned an ambitious sales goal for plant-based meat.
Shortly after the start of Covid-19, Tesco set out to increase the purchases of meat alternatives by 300% by the end of 2025 (compared to 2018 levels). And though it started well, the growth slowed as the pandemic faded away, with 2024/25 sales only 94% higher than the baseline.
The supermarket had last year warned it was not on track to meet this target. And now, it has admitted that it “did not fully deliver the impact” it had hoped for, suggesting that “market decline and changes to customer preferences” led the company to update its approach.
That said, Tesco is reiterating its commitment to plant-based meat. “While the market for meat alternatives hasn’t grown at the rate we expected, we know these products have a dedicated customer base and that significant innovation is taking place,” it states in its sustainability report.
“We continue to optimise our meat alternative ranges and innovate across this space to complement natural plant-based protein demand,” it adds.
Tesco goes big on beans as meat alternatives slide
“The wider plant‑based market has seen year‑on‑year decline, with customers increasingly opting for familiar, affordable options and more veg‑led meals. As a result, plant‑based meat alternative sales have slowed, and we have not met our target,” Tesco said.
This contrasted with discount retailer Lidl, which blew past its target of boosting private-label plant-based meat and dairy sales by 400% from 2020 to 2025, posting a 694% increase instead.
Tesco CEO Ken Murphy noted: “We are shifting from things that aren’t driving the impact we are aiming for, such as plant-based meat alternatives, towards those that are, like doing our part to remove the barriers customers face in accessing healthy, sustainable food.”
The tide may be changing. Nielsen analysis shows that chilled plant-based food volume demand rose by just under 1% across UK supermarkets in 2025, rising to 1.7% in the final quarter. At Tesco, vegan mince products witnessed a near-25% sales hike over the last year, and plant proteins like tofu, tempeh and seitan saw a 12% increase.
The retailer said it wanted to help consumer eat more plant proteins, with a focus on whole-food options like beans, pulses and tofu, citing research showing that two in five Brits want to eat more legumes and grains.
“Beans are high in fibre, one of your five-a-day, low in fat and an affordable source of plant-based protein, making them a brilliant wholefood and a great way to boost essential nutrients. We are really pleased to see increasing interest in beans from our customers,” the report stated.
Data from Tesco Clubcard revealed that Shoppers who buy the highest proportion of beans tend to have healthier baskets, with more protein, fibre and ingredients that indicate they’re more likely to cook from scratch.
The supermarket is now expanding the feature space for beans to ensure they have a greater presence in high-footfall areas and across its convenience formats. It also has over 700 bean recipes on its website, and has sold over 52 million units of new or improved products containing beans.
UK’s largest retailer to keep offering plant-based foods at accessible prices
Tesco is part of the World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) basket initiative, which aims to half the climate footprint of the British shopping trolley. The retailer reports on the sales split between plant-based and animal proteins to track progress towards shifting towards more sustainable proteins.
The share of meat and seafood sales from plant-based products has decreased from 12% in 2021/22 to 10% over the last year, though it represents a jump from 9% in 2023/24. Meanwhile, vegan alternatives accounted for just 5% of overall dairy sales in 2021/22, and rose to 7% in 2024/25, a share maintained in the latest period too.
“We remain committed to supporting plant‑forward diets and continue to develop products that help customers incorporate more vegetables and plant proteins into their meals,” Tesco said.
“We will continue to provide plant-based ranges at accessible prices, alongside more personalised recipes to inspire cooking with these versatile ingredients,” it added.
UK meat prices have shot up by 42% since 2019, much faster than plant proteins. Beef has suffered the largest markup (+56%) due to climate change, dwindling livestock numbers, and geopolitical conflicts. Even the cheapest meat category, pork, is now £5.77/kg more expensive than dried pulses (up from a premium of £3.56 in 2019).
Plant-based meat has flipped the script on pricing, with prices now higher than pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, these proteins were 40p dearer than conventional processed meat; by 2025, the former were 29p cheaper.
In fact, research from 2025 revealed that several plant-based alternatives are now priced the same as meat, and some are even cheaper, at Tesco. And last month, the Good Food Institute Europe reported that vegan mince and meatballs were 13% and 41% cheaper than their conventional counterparts at this retailer in Q1 2026.
In terms of its overall emissions, Tesco said it had cut scope 1 and 2 emissions by 68% since a decade ago, and food waste from its operations by 24%. However, 99% of its climate footprint comes from its supply chain (scope 3 emissions), and agriculture accounts for 38%.
“We are currently focused on where we have the greatest influence in our supply chain to deliver impactful projects in line with our strategic commitments,” the retailer outlined.
