New Systemiq analysis, supported by the Good Food Institute Europe, finds that scaling plant-based foods, cultivated meat, and fermentation-made ingredients could deliver major economic gains for the EU, while improving food security and agricultural resilience.
If treated as a strategic priority, alternative proteins could add €111 billion a year to the EU economy by 2040.
Key findings
With modest investment and supportive policy over the next 15 years, alternative proteins could:
- Generate €111 billion in annual gross value added, comparable to Europe’s wine sector.
- Create a €79 billion domestic market across the full supply chain—similar to Lithuania’s GDP in 2024.
- Build a €60 billion export market, comparable to current EU exports to South Korea, positioning Europe as a global hub for advanced food biomanufacturing.
- Support 414,000 high-quality jobs across science, manufacturing, agriculture, and logistics.
Opportunities for EU agriculture
Alternative proteins could also reduce reliance on imported crops and open new markets for farmers. An expanded plant-based sector could:
- More than double demand for peas, fava beans, lentils and chickpeas needed for raw ingredients for alternative proteins
- Fermentation-made foods would raise demand for sugar and starch crops like sugar beet, offering alternative income streams as biofuel demand declines toward 2035.
- Reduce EU imports of soy for high-protein animal feed by 2.6 MMT, and reduce overall demand for feed by 23 MMT.
What needs to happen
The report concludes these benefits require EU and national governments to treat alternative proteins as a strategic priority by:
Investing in R&D and scale-up
Annual public investment of:
- €690 million in research
- €720 million in scale-up infrastructure
This €1.4 billion per year could unlock innovation, reduce costs, make products more appealing to consumers, and catalyse private investment. It is a small fraction of what the EU has backed in other industries, such as €10.6 billion committed for green hydrogen in 2022 alone.
Improving regulation
While EU food safety standards are world-leading, the novel foods approval process can be hard to navigate, especially for SMEs. The report calls for clearer, more predictable pathways to market while maintaining safety.
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Research: Alternative proteins could boost the EU economy by €111 billion within 15 years
New Systemiq analysis, supported by the Good Food Institute Europe, finds that scaling plant-based foods, cultivated meat, and fermentation-made ingredients could deliver major economic gains for the EU, while improving food security and agricultural resilience.
If treated as a strategic priority, alternative proteins could add €111 billion a year to the EU economy by 2040.
Key findings
With modest investment and supportive policy over the next 15 years, alternative proteins could:
- Generate €111 billion in annual gross value added, comparable to Europe’s wine sector.
- Create a €79 billion domestic market across the full supply chain—similar to Lithuania’s GDP in 2024.
- Build a €60 billion export market, comparable to current EU exports to South Korea, positioning Europe as a global hub for advanced food biomanufacturing.
- Support 414,000 high-quality jobs across science, manufacturing, agriculture, and logistics.
Opportunities for EU agriculture
Alternative proteins could also reduce reliance on imported crops and open new markets for farmers. An expanded plant-based sector could:
- More than double demand for peas, fava beans, lentils and chickpeas needed for raw ingredients for alternative proteins
- Fermentation-made foods would raise demand for sugar and starch crops like sugar beet, offering alternative income streams as biofuel demand declines toward 2035.
- Reduce EU imports of soy for high-protein animal feed by 2.6 MMT, and reduce overall demand for feed by 23 MMT.
What needs to happen
The report concludes these benefits require EU and national governments to treat alternative proteins as a strategic priority by:
Investing in R&D and scale-up
Annual public investment of:
- €690 million in research
- €720 million in scale-up infrastructure
This €1.4 billion per year could unlock innovation, reduce costs, make products more appealing to consumers, and catalyse private investment. It is a small fraction of what the EU has backed in other industries, such as €10.6 billion committed for green hydrogen in 2022 alone.
Improving regulation
While EU food safety standards are world-leading, the novel foods approval process can be hard to navigate, especially for SMEs. The report calls for clearer, more predictable pathways to market while maintaining safety.
