Last updated: 16-07-2026
Ananda Roy on Where Plant-Based and Hybrid Demand Is Headed in 2026
Ananda Roy, Circana's SVP Global Thought Leadership and Consumer Goods Industry Advisor for Europe, told the Plant FWD conference in April 2026 that Europe's €16.3 billion plant-based food and drink market has reached a pivotal moment: the foundations for growth are in place, but the next phase depends on execution, not hype, a message he brings to Hybrid Foods Europe's opening demand-trends session in September.
Roy's Circana data shows plant-based food and drink grew 5.1 percent year-on-year across the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and the Netherlands between 2024 and 2025, yet still represents just 2.4 percent of total food and drink sales, a gap between consumer interest and category scale that frames his entire argument for where hybrid fits next.
The Headline Number: €16.3 Billion, Still Only 2.4 Percent of FMCG
Circana's EU6 plant-based tracking puts the category at €16.3 billion in 2025, growing at 5.1 percent, but meat and seafood alternatives account for just 4 percent of that value, dwarfed by nuts and seeds (45 percent), dairy alternatives (21 percent), and ready-to-eat meals (15 percent). That composition is the core of Roy's argument: plant-based growth is increasingly coming from everyday, functional formats rather than meat-mimicking substitutes, a pattern with direct implications for how hybrid meat and dairy should be positioned relative to the wider plant-based category, not against it.
Flexitarians, Not Vegans, Are Driving the Growth
Only around 11 percent of Europeans identify as vegan or vegetarian, but the flexitarian segment has grown from 21 percent in 2022 to 31 percent in 2024, and Circana names this group as the primary lever for the next phase of category growth. Roy has argued that winners in this next phase will be brands that close the gap between taste, nutrition, and price, and integrate plant-based and hybrid formats seamlessly into everyday consumption occasions rather than treating them as a separate, values-driven purchase. That framing lines up closely with the flexitarian-shopper focus already built into the Strategic Consumer Challenge session with Lidl and Wageningen University at Hybrid Foods Europe.
Why "Success Code to Win" Matters for Hybrid Specifically
At Hybrid Foods Europe, Roy's session, titled Plant Based Pathways to Modern Nutrition, extends this argument specifically into hybrid meat and dairy demand trends for 2026 and beyond, addressing what Circana calls the "success code to win" for brands operating in the blended category. Circana's broader research shows the price gap between plant-based and animal proteins remains a top barrier to adoption, and that closing it, rather than widening product range, is now the priority lever for FMCG manufacturers and retailers. This pricing-first framing dovetails directly with the pricing-integrity argument already made by industry voices like Aviko Rixona's Lucas Metsaars, who has separately argued that hybrid formulation savings should reach the shelf price rather than stay as retailer margin.
GLP-1s and Gut Health: The New Demand Signals
Circana's consumer research identifies gut health, digestion, and stress reduction as rising priorities alongside the accelerating adoption of GLP-1 weight-loss medications, which Roy notes is pushing consumers toward smaller, more nutrient-dense meals, a shift he argues plant-based and hybrid formats are well positioned to meet. This is a demand signal largely absent from hybrid foods coverage to date, and one category teams preparing for the 2026-2028 planning cycle should be tracking alongside the more familiar sustainability and taste arguments.
Comparison: What's Winning vs. What's Stalling in European Plant-Based, 2025
Segment | 2025 share of plant-based value | 2024-2025 trend |
Nuts and seeds | 45% | Growing, whole-food led |
Dairy alternatives | 21% | Outperforming animal dairy in volume growth |
Ready-to-eat meals | 15% | Growing |
Meat and seafood alternatives | 4% | Marginal decline, low base |
Hybrid (combined animal-plant) | Tracked separately | Growing inside its own category |
Take-Home Messages
Commercial
Position hybrid meat and dairy against the wider, functional plant-based category, not narrowly against declining meat-mimic sales.
Flexitarian shoppers, now 31 percent of Europeans, are the audience to build category strategy around, not committed vegans or vegetarians.
Closing the price gap with animal protein is Circana's top-ranked lever for unlocking mainstream adoption, ahead of range expansion.
GLP-1-driven demand for nutrient-dense, smaller meals is an emerging positioning angle largely untapped in hybrid marketing so far.
Technical
Circana's EU6 tracking (UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Netherlands) is the reference dataset category teams should benchmark against for plant-based and hybrid share.
Dairy alternatives already outperform animal dairy on volume growth, a data point directly relevant to hybrid dairy formulation priorities.
Taste-led innovation, not just price or sustainability messaging, is Circana's top recommendation for driving repeat purchase.
Country-level divergence is significant: Germany and Spain accelerated in 2025 while the UK and Netherlands underperformed, meaning a single European strategy will not fit every market.
Verdict & Next Step
Ananda Roy's data confirms what FoodConNext Foundation's community has argued from the retail floor: the plant-based and hybrid opportunity is real, but it will be won on execution, price, and everyday relevance, not novelty. His session opens the retail and food service day at Hybrid Foods Europe, Van der Valk Zuidas, Amsterdam, 14-16 September 2026, setting the demand-trend context for every session that follows. Places on the programme are filling ahead of September. Register now to hear the full 2026 outlook and challenge your own category strategy against it.
About Gerard Klein Essink
Gerard Klein Essink is Founder & CEO of FoodConNext Foundation. He has run an international plant-based foods and proteins community for more than 20 years, published numerous industry reports, and written innovation reports on proteins for the Dutch government. He has advised the Canadian government on its pulse strategy, produced strategic outlook reports for Pulse Canada and the Australian Grains Research & Development Corporation, and leads FoodConNext Foundation's 100+ member Global Research Ecosystem. He has led multiple Horizon EU protein-transition projects, including Metaphor, Prominent, Plenitude, Profuture, HealthFerm, and Giant Leaps, and spoke at the European Parliament and European Commission in June 2026.
About FoodConNext Foundation
At FoodConNext Foundation, we believe that the future of food lies at the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and global collaboration. Our foundation is dedicated to accelerating the transition toward more resilient and responsible food systems by connecting key stakeholders across the agri-food ecosystem.
Our Mission
FoodConNext Foundation exists to bridge gaps in the global food system — bringing together entrepreneurs, researchers, policymakers, and investors to co-create solutions that address some of the world's most pressing challenges, including food security, sustainability, and nutrition.