At the start of the year, many food trend predictors called out that it was likely to be a banner year for meat, on the menu and in the meat case. Judging from the Circana data on fresh meat sales, your own store is likely serving up evidence they were right! In this edition, we get our teeth into the why, and how retailers can take advantage of it. One of the first indicators for this trend is consumers’ attitude towards protein in general. For the 3rd straight year, “high protein” is the most common diet Americans are following, and for the 5th straight year, protein is the top nutrient they’re trying to consume, now at 70% of consumers.
The latest Dietary Guidelines – while admittedly not without controversy – put proteins at the top of the food pyramid, reinforcing this mindset. So protein is almost universally seen as a good and healthy goal – but what about animal proteins?
There’s news there too, as we seem to be in a moment where pure, natural protein sources like meat are not just more craveable, but also seen as healthier than plant-based proteins or meat analogs. According to Datassential, 34% of consumers said it was important for their health to eat more animal protein in 2026. This adds up to a consumer who’s seeking out meat guilt-free, and probably explains why there are 17% more self-described meat eaters among millennials, and 4% fewer vegans from 2021 to 2024.
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