---
title: "Fast Casual: Meatless — It's not just for vegans anymore"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/02957917-a859-4054-bf66-70d483e3a869
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/fast-casual-meatless-its-not-just-for-vegans-anymore-2706841
category: "Fast casual"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Fast casual"
published: 2018-06-15T00:19:20.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:09:21.584Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/4b5f5456f94db3e07c3b9c020183da787876.jpg
---

# Fast Casual: Meatless — It's not just for vegans anymore

**TL;DR:** The plant-based diet trend is gaining momentum, with a 19 percent growth in plant-based proteins being shipped to micro-chains between March 2017 and March 2018. In-house consumption of meat alternatives has also increased significantly, citing a 24 percent increase since 2015.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2018-06-15. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/fast-casual-meatless-its-not-just-for-vegans-anymore-2706841).*

## Story

The plant-based diet trend continues to gain momentum. Face Casual recently detailed an NPD Group survey that noted a 19 percent growth in plant-based proteins being shipped to micro-chains between March 2017 to March 2018. According to NPD Group, in-house consumption of meat alternatives have also increased significantly citing a 24 percent increase since 2015.

"It's clear by the growth of plant-based proteins that this category has mainstreamed beyond those consumers who choose a meatless diet," NPD Food Sector Industry Advisor David Portalatin, said in the release. "Food manufacturers and operators have improved the quality and taste of plant-based foods over the past several years and these foods are appealing to a variety of consumer segments for a variety of reasons."

The survey also noted that 14 percent of U.S. consumers regularly use plant-based alternatives, even when they don't identify as vegans or vegetarians.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- food trends (topic)
- meat alternatives (topic)
- plant-based diet (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/fast-casual-meatless-its-not-just-for-vegans-anymore-2706841). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/02957917-a859-4054-bf66-70d483e3a869).