Sprouts Farmers Market CEO Jack Sinclair says the company's future focus is on offering items that may not be available at other food retailers, with a special emphasis on expanded appeal to "health enthusiasts." Sinclair says 90% of Sprouts' frozen products and 80% of its dairy items can't be found at other retailers and investors should view Sprouts as "a specialty food business, not a grocer."

Although the popularity of plant-based food has been growing for several years, the pandemic has accelerated the trend and is creating new opportunities for grocers in a category that includes a growing number of products ranging from snacks to seafood, writes Dawn Valandingham of SPINS. Valandingham outlines several areas grocers can leverage to increase sales, writing, "[w]e can now assume everyone is a potential plant-based shopper and educate them enough to see the possibilities."

Several factors are driving the trend toward more plant-based dining, including the rise of communal meals and the explosion of new plant-based meat and dairy alternatives, according to panelists at last week's Food & Beverage SmartSummit. Flexitarians and other omnivores looking to cut some animal products from their diet are leading the way, experts from White Castle, Kroger and Datassential agreed. Hear more of their perspectives by accessing SmartSummit on demand.

Consumers' preferences for plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy products vary between restaurant meals and grocery purchases, according to research from the NPD Group. Consumption of plant-based dairy alternatives is largely centered around the home, while demand for plant-based burgers and other meat alternatives is growing at restaurants, and many including White Castle and Burger King now offer plant-based burgers on the menu.

Today in the food industry, there are thousands of companies riding the wave of the plant-based protein trend. Grocery stores, restaurants and even convenience stores are on the road to widespread plant-based offerings. FMI's 2019 US Grocery Shopper Trends report finds a rising number of households (33%) have at least one member voluntarily following a vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian or flexitarian diet -- a trend which is higher for Gen Z and millennial households. At the same time, Trends finds only 5% of households with kids describe themselves as eating a completely plant-based diet, meaning the exclusion of all animal products including meat, dairy and eggs. So, how is it that plant-based meat alternatives, in a society where plant-based meats used to seem alien, are so popular? Learn more.