Ipsos Retail Performance – Vegan search trends in 2019
A new study has revealed how interest for veganism and plant-based diets across the US has changed, comparing differences in state-by-state adoption throughout a 15 year period.
“Plant-based diets are fast becoming mainstream, but the change hasn’t been a steady one. Recent years have seen rapid adoption of vegan diets and more meat-free products making their way onto shelves”, states Kelly Fairchild, a global business development manager from Ipsos Retail Performance.
Global retail traffic counting specialist Ipsos Retail Performance has revealed its study into Google search data to demonstrate how interests in plant-based diets have changed over time, depending on location.
Illustrated through an interactive timeline and map charting search data between 2004-2019, findings include:
- The most consistently ‘vegan’ state is Oregon, achieving the highest search value for 12 years out of 15. This is followed by Vermont, Washington and California.
- The state which is most reluctant to seek out vegan trends (and therefore the biggest meat-eaters) is Mississippi, followed by South Dakota, Alabama and North Dakota.
- Political leanings correlate with how vegan each state is, with the top 10 biggest vegan states all largely Democrat voters, and the 10 lowest vegan states all largely Republican.
- The states seeing the biggest change in attitudes include Nevada (38 point increase in vegan searches) and New Hampshire (31 point decrease in vegan searches).
The preference for plant-based alternatives to meat and other animal products has exploded in popularity over the most recent decade, with over 9.7 million Americans[1] now identifying as vegan.
The interactive map shows the US vegan hotspots and those states that remain a little resistant to going plant-based.
Throughout the period covered in the research, the North Eastern and West Coast states showed the earliest interest in veganism. More states followed suit in 2013, where there was a significant increase in interest-driven by high profile awareness driven by celebrities and the availability of ‘mock’ meat products increasing in stores and restaurants.
“As the dialog around veganism shifts from one of animal welfare, to wider concerns around climate change and personal health, we are seeing more and more people adopt this once minority dietary preference”, Fairchild states.
The full timeline and interactive map is available at the following link: https://www.ipsos-retailperformance.com/en/vegan-trends/
