Market research company Innova Market Insights recently projected that plant-based lines of confectionary products will gain significant ground this year, as plant-based concepts venture beyond the core dairy and meat alternatives categories. In 2020, at least 67% of all products with plant-based claims were launched outside of the meat and dairy alternative space, and in confectionary products, many are being launched with dairy-free and gelatin-free claims, and plant-based confectionary on the whole as a concept is growing in popularity, the company said.
 
Compared to the growth of the entire confectionary category, which grew at a CAGR of less than 2% from 2016-2020, confectionary products carrying vegan claims rose at a 17% CAGR over the same time period. New product launches more than doubled for these products in 2020 alone.
 
This trend represents the shift of animal-free products into the mainstream, whereas in the past, vegan claims were once considered secondary or tertiary claims in addition to organic and other heath positionings. Today, they’re the primary focus.
 
“Mars’ introduction of vegan Topic and Bounty bars in the U.K. this month demonstrates the growing importance of the vegan message,” Lu Ann Williams, Director of Innovation at Innova Market Insights, said. “Although the bars are also positioned as gluten-free, ‘vegan’ is the most important claim on the packaging, while the Vegan Society logo is also prominent.”
 
Some producers are taking confectionary formulation and marketing cues from more established vegan alternative categories, Innova said, such as in plant-based chocolate, which has newer products which use terms such as ‘mylk’ or ‘m!lk’ to reflect their dairy-free recipes, while others incorporate nut or oat milks as ingredients. In gelatin-free sugar and confectionary, ‘veggie’ terminology is also being used on occasion.