August 6, 2026
A recent review examining global prices of alternatives to animal-source products found that traditional, minimally processed plant-based foods — particularly pulses — are consistently among the lowest-cost options across markets. But many of the newer alternatives attracting investment and attention, including alt-meat and dairy, remain twice as expensive as their conventional animal-based counterparts. Can this price paradox be solved once and for all?
As food systems look for ways to reduce their reliance on animal-source products, pulses already have a major advantage: they are consistently among the lowest-cost options across markets. But their processed versions come at a premium.
A recent review published in The Lancet, based on 76 eligible studies, examined both the prices consumers pay for finished products and the costs associated with producing them. Its findings highlight a significant divide within the alt-protein landscape: while some emerging options still need substantial cost reductions to achieve widespread adoption, traditional, minimally processed plant-based foods — particularly pulses — already offer an economically competitive route towards diets containing less animal-source food.
Among the alternatives examined, pulses showed the strongest price advantage. Their average price ratio compared with animal-source foods was around 0.18, meaning they were, on average, about 82% less expensive than their animal-based counterparts. But the picture changes considerably once plant-based foods become more highly processed.
Plant-based meat analogues were found to have an average price ratio of 1.81, with individual comparisons ranging from 1.02 to 4.55. In other words, plant-based meat products were, on average, roughly twice the price of their animal-based equivalents. Plant-based dairy analogues showed a similar pattern, with an average price ratio of 2.04 and a range of 1.07 to 5.50.
The review notes that these price differences can reflect a combination of production and packaging costs, administrative expenses, research and development, and manufacturer and retailer margins. Niche products may also face limited competition and fewer price promotions than conventional animal-source foods. As industries mature and scale up, some of these costs could decline. The review points, for example, to the relatively larger size of the plant-based dairy market as a possible explanation for its somewhat lower price differential compared with plant-based meat analogues.
But for unprocessed pulses, the situation is fundamentally different. Their market is already large and mature, with relatively low margins. There may therefore be less room for dramatic cost reductions through the kind of technological scaling expected in newer alternative-protein industries.
READ THE FULL ARTICLEThe Lancet review identifies production, packaging, research and retail margins among the factors contributing to higher prices for many newer plant-based products.
Products such as hummus illustrate how simple processing can expand the reach and convenience of pulses without fundamentally changing the ingredient.
Pulses / alternative proteins / plant-based foods / food prices / protein transition / food systems.
Disclaimer: The opinions or views expressed in this publication are those of the authors or quoted persons. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Global Pulse Confederation or its members.
