British shoppers are eating more beans, lentils, tofu and tempeh, while buying less animal and plant-based fake meat, as they try to save money and eat more healthily.
Sales of beans, pulses and soya bean derivatives in the UK rose by 7.3% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year, driven by a rise in cheap dried lentils, according to an analysis. Sales of cheap dried lentils surged by 23%, based on data from the market research firm NielsenIQ, evaluated by the climate advocacy group Madre Brava.
Shoppers also turned to more upmarket legumes, including organic and jarred varieties, with sales of canned and jarred butter beans rising by 30.3%. This growth was partly driven by new products and brands, such as the Bold Bean Co, Navarrico and Marks & Spencer’s own label, as well as recipes going viral on social media.
Sales of tinned baked beans fell by 1.2%, though this was mostly down to a drop in cans that also contain sausages rather than a decline in interest in beans themselves. Sales of fake meats fell by 4.3%, a decline attributed to textured soya, pea and wheat protein products, though sales of mycoprotein, sold under the brand name Quorn, grew.
The Madre Brava report said, “Shoppers are not abandoning plant protein — they’re shifting toward simpler, higher-fibre foods, whose prices are rising more slowly than food inflation, widening the price gap with meat… This indicates that, while food inflation and affordability remain key factors, nutrition and health benefits are also driving purchasing decisions.”
Amid high inflation in the price of cow flesh and lamb flesh in recent years, the amount of meat sold by retailers fell by 1.8% year on year, according to Madre Brava’s analysis of Euromonitor International data.
Chloe MacKean, food business transformation manager at the Food Foundation, said to the Guardian, “We aren’t surprised to see the rise in bean sales. Beans are a triple win for health, sustainability and our wallets… They are a healthy and affordable protein source, high in fibre and emit far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than animal protein.”
