"If you walk into a grocery store in the Netherlands or Germany, you might not realize you're being steered toward plant-based protein, from vegan tortellini to plant-based yogurt. But across Europe and the UK, major retailers are quietly driving that shift. And they're seeing results at a time when plant-based sales are struggling in the US. Lidl, a budget supermarket, grew UK sales of its private-label plant-based line by nearly 700% from 2020 to 2025."
"Climate is the biggest motivation. As grocery stores look at their own carbon footprints-driven by policies like the EU's climate reporting rules -nearly all of the impact comes from food production in their supply chains. And nearly half of those emissions come from meat and dairy. "It's huge-this is the biggest lever for a retailer in terms of reducing the climate impact," says Joanna Trewern, director of partnerships at ProVeg International, a Berlin-based nonprofit that advocates for grocery stores to prioritize plant-based protein."
Major retailers across Europe and the UK are steering shoppers toward plant-based protein through product placement, private-label ranges, and pricing adjustments. Lidl's UK private-label plant-based line grew nearly 700% from 2020 to 2025. In Germany, France, and Italy, plant-based retail sales are rising across multiple categories, with much of the growth driven by supermarkets' own brands. Dutch supermarkets aim for plant-based protein to account for 60% of protein sales by 2030. Climate concerns drive the strategy because food production dominates retailers' supply-chain emissions, with meat and dairy responsible for nearly half. Industry groups and national policies support the transition.
Read at Fast Company
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