Germany: Meat substitute production declines for the first time
Last year, the production of meat substitutes in Germany declined slightly. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 1.2% less meat substitute was produced in Germany in 2025 than in the previous year. The quantity and value of meat substitutes remain relatively low compared to meat products. Meat consumption has also increased again.
Whether veggie burgers, tofu sausage, or seitan mortadella – for a long time, the market for vegetarian and vegan meat alternatives seemed to know only one direction: upwards. That has come to an end, at least for now. According to Destatis, 124,900 tons of meat substitute products were produced in Germany in 2025 – 1.2% less than the previous year (2024: 126,500 tons). The value of production also declined: the production value was €632.6 million, 2.2% below the previous year's figure of €647.1 million. However, within six years, production has more than doubled (+107.0%): 60,400 tons of meat substitute products were manufactured in 2019.
The value of the meat produced is roughly 70 times higher than that of meat substitutes.
Compared to meat production, the market for meat substitutes remains marginal. In 2025, meat and meat products worth approximately €45.2 billion were produced in Germany – an increase of 2.0% compared to the previous year. In terms of value, meat production was thus more than 70 times greater than the production of meat substitutes. By comparison, in 2019 this ratio was still around 150 times greater – so while the gap has narrowed considerably in recent years, it remains very large.
Meat consumption slightly increased in 2025
Parallel to the decline in meat substitute products, per capita meat consumption in Germany has risen slightly again, according to preliminary figures from the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE). At an average of 54.9 kilograms per person, calculated meat consumption in 2025 was higher than in the two preceding years (2024: 53.5 kg; 2023: 52.9 kg).
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