Germany’s production of vegetarian or vegan meat alternatives saw a slight decrease last year, bucking the trend of steady growth observed in previous years. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the production volume of meat substitute products in Germany in 2025 reached 124,900 tons-a 1.2% drop compared to the previous year. In 2024, production stood at 126,500 tons. Additionally, the value of meat alternatives production fell by 2.2% year-over-year in 2025, amounting to €632.6 million, down from €647.1 million. Despite this recent decline, overall, production has more than doubled within six years, jumping by 107.0% since 2019, when meat alternatives were produced in volumes of 60,400 tons.
In contrast, the production of traditional meat and meat products in Germany was valued at a robust €45.2 billion last year. This represents a 2.0% increase compared to the €44.3 billion recorded in the prior year. The value of meat production far exceeds that of its altneratives; in 2025, meat production was roughly 70 times larger than the value of meat substitutes. Looking back to 2019, meat and meat products were valued at approximately €40.1 billion, which was about 150 times the then-current value of meat alternatives, which was close to €0.3 billion.
Separately, preliminary figures from the Federal Institute of Agriculture and Food (BLE) indicate a slight rise in per capita meat consumption. The calculated average meat consumption in Germany for 2025 was 54.9 kilograms per person, which is slightly above the levels recorded in both 2023 (52.9 kilograms) and 2024 (53.5 kilograms).