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In fiscal year 2021, the market size of plant-based foods in Japan was estimated at ** billion Japanese yen. The market was forecast to grow steadily to ** billion yen in fiscal 2025. While the rising awareness of sustainable and ethical consumption is stimulating market growth in Japan, plant-based foods have long been a part of Japanese eating culture without recognition as an alternative to animal products.

Plant-based proteins

Plant-based foods cover a broad range of alternatives to animal-derived products, but among the most commonly associated segments are meat alternatives made from soybeans. Soy products like tofu are actively consumed as a general side dish in Japan, but a stand-alone soy meat market is only emergent. Advances in food technology have been closing the gaps between conventional meats and imitation products regarding texture, taste, and culinary uses, with the familiarity with meat alternatives slowly growing.

Elevating soy to plant-based foods?

Soy-based foods are considered a factor contributing to the healthy aspect of traditional Japanese foods (washoku), with the beans being processed into a variety of foods, condiments, and beverages. But unlike the global consumer market, soy milk and tofu are considered more as general foods than plant-based alternatives to cow’s milk and meat. Soy milk is consumed as a regular beverage in Japan, with flavored, fruity soy beverages being no rarity on store shelves. Tofu, on the other hand, is a multipurpose ingredient in Japanese cuisine, available in a variety of textures through frying, freeze-drying, stir-frying, or steaming the pressed soy curds. With startups and established meat processors joining the plant-based food market, manufacturers are faced with the challenge of setting themselves apart from conventional soy products.