Taste of the Industry 2025
Sensory analysis of 122 plant-based meats across 14 categories with 2,684 omnivores
The second report in the annual Taste of the Industry series, Taste of the Industry 2025 is the world’s largest sensory analysis of plant-based meats. This report provides objective sensory data about 122 plant-based meat products collected through blind taste tests conducted in American restaurant settings.
By having omnivores directly compare plant-based meat products against animal benchmarks, we reveal competitive positioning and specific R&D opportunities in this increasingly important category.
Categories tested in this report include:
Deli Slices - Turkey
Hot Dogs
Meatballs
Pulled Pork
Steak Fillets
Unbreaded Chicken Fillet
Unbreaded Chicken Strips & Chunks
Bacon
Bratwurst
Breaded Chicken Fillets
Breakfast Sausage Patties
Burgers
Chicken Nuggets
Deli Slices - Ham
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access the full sensory dataset on our public data dashboard below:
Taste of the Industry 2025:
Data Dashboard
Access the data behind the world’s most comprehensive sensory analysis of plant-based meats in a
free, easy-to-use digital dashboard.
Executive Summary
Quickly understand overall results with AI generated summaries on category performance and R&D opportunities.
Review a comprehensive overview of key metrics by category to surface results and hypotheses for further investigation.
Category R&D Roadmap
Navigate detailed sensory heat maps for each category to identify top R&D priorities across flavor, texture, appearance, and nutrition.
Use Qualitative responses to see what consumers are saying about plant-based meats, by category, and to validate R&D roadmaps, gather sales proof points, and discover innovation white spaces.
Performance Snapshots
For each category, explore performance across a variety of sensory modalities (flavor, texture, appearance, similarity, etc).
Use Preference Testing to compare performance of the average plant-based product to the leading plant-based product and the animal benchmark, with statistical significance testing, to see how the category stacks up!
Marketing Strategy
Investigate category performance by key demographic attributes (e.g., age, purchase drivers, category consumption frequency) to guide marketing decisions and audience targeting.
Webinar
In this webinar, hosted by The Good Food Institute (GFI), NECTAR unveils groundbreaking insights from the Taste of the Industry 2025 report, featuring blind sensory analysis of 122 plant-based meat products. We dive into NECTAR’s unprecedented dataset that reveals which categories are on their way to achieving taste parity with conventional meat, and share key learnings about taste, price, and health that can help accelerate consumer adoption of alternative proteins. Learn how to utilize NECTAR’s public data dashboard to accelerate your own initiatives.
“NECTAR’s data is such a great resource for emerging brands. It answered the more than vexing question for us on whether to modify salt or smoke.”
— Founder, NECTAR Taste of the Industry participant brand
