More than half of German consumers say they would buy hybrid meat products if taste and price meet expectations, according to a new survey commissioned by Meatless, a division of ingredient manufacturer BENEO. The study covered nearly 3,500 participants across Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands.
More than half of German consumers say they would purchase hybrid meat products if taste and price meet expectations, according to the survey. Quality, certification, and the origin of the meat component matter more to shoppers than references to plant-based ingredients. Flexitarians in particular are showing growing interest in products with a reduced meat content.
In terms of preferred product formats, bratwurst leads clearly across all consumer groups in Germany at 52%, followed by minced meat (27%) and burger patties (11%). Flexitarians showed a preference for the hybrid version over conventional meat across nearly all formats. According to the 2025 Nutrition Report published by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Home (BMLEH), more than one in three Germans follows a flexitarian diet. The Meatless survey puts that figure even higher, at one in two respondents, suggesting considerable market potential.
Niels E. Hower, CEO of Meatless, comments: “As one of the first providers of hybrid solutions, Meatless has long been convinced of the benefits of combining meat with plant-based ingredients. Our approach—reducing the meat content while maintaining the familiar taste and quality—aligns with the results of the consumer survey. We help our customers develop products that fit seamlessly into consumers’ dietary habits. At the same time, we are confident that hybrid concepts can help address the challenges facing the meat industry in terms of sustainability and availability.”
An economic response to rising meat prices
Meatless texturates are made from raw materials such as field beans, rice, and mycoproteins and, according to the company, enable the development of hybrid products “with a typical meat flavor, improved juiciness, and an optimized nutritional profile.” For food manufacturers, hybrid formulations also offer a cost-effective solution to rising meat prices.
To illustrate the potential for optimization, Meatless presents a Cost Calculator that compares original recipes and hybrid versions in terms of cost, CO2 equivalents, saturated fatty acids, and energy content.
