4 Plant-Based Dessert Trends & Dessert Brands To Watch Out For In 2022

Wondering what are the top 2022 dessert trends? Plant-based desserts are on the rise and in this blog post, we look at the dessert flavor trends of 2022 as well as the companies that are changing the product landscape. FYI, ice-creams for breakfast might finally be possible in the future.

The plant-based food juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down. Having conquered dairy and meat, it is now setting its sights on satiating our sweet tooth. Plant-based desserts – sweet foods made from plant-based ingredients – are popping up to entice us away from more traditional sweet treats. And they’re doing quite well, spurred on by consumer interest in all things plant-based.

Vegan / plant-based ice cream or frozen desserts, which have been around for a bit now as a natural extension of the plant milk scene, is in what is being called “the Golden Age”. One estimate put the price tag on the dairy-free ice cream market at US$455.9 million in 2018 and expects it to hit US$1.2 billion by 2025.

Taking a cue from this forecasted growth, we’re now seeing plant-based desserts like pudding, mousse, sweet dips, and dessert hummus fighting for our attention in retail. And you can bet your bottom dollar that this space will only get bigger.

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Plant-based Dessert Trends To Look At

Growing consumer concern about how food affects both personal and environmental wellbeing is the main factor driving demand for vegan and plant-based desserts. Consumers are now matching their spending to their values, whether it be through clean-label products or careful waste management.

Many people opt for the plant-based/vegan lifestyle for dietary reasons, among other things. Around 75% of people on the planet are lactose intolerant, and 2% of children have egg allergies. Demand for simple meals with less sugar and fat has also increased as a result of the obesity epidemic and high cholesterol levels.

Consumers are looking for alternatives because of the negative environmental effects and animal cruelty associated with the production of dairy, eggs, sugar, and oils/fats.

Here are the trends to watch for:

1. The push for plant-based foods is expected to grow in new categories beyond meat, dairy, and natural foods – including snacks, canned oat milk lattes, and yogurts. Consumers are eager to try plant-based dairy products ranging from coconut milk yogurt to almond milk creamer and oat milk in frozen desserts. The rising popularity of frozen plant-based snacks is prompting manufacturers to introduce new products containing soy, coconut, almond, oats, cashews, and pea protein. 
2. People are not just substituting regular butter for vegan or plant-based butter but prefer more healthy and flavor-oriented ingredients. The taste remains a priority when choosing food, especially in the dessert segment.
3. Using more locally made beans to bar vegan dark chocolates that contain very less sugar or ingredients like nuts and fruit-based products is high on-trend.
4. Ingredients such as butter, eggs, and milk are swapped with vegan/plant-based alternatives. 

Food marketers are leveraging the vegan and based dessert trends for all their worth. In order to satisfy the rising demand for more plant-based food products, they have started offering gluten-free bakes and dairy-free desserts, using natural sugar like jaggery, inulin, and agar-agar (a vegetarian gelatin substitute produced from seaweed vegetation.) Animal-free baking ingredients like sugar and chocolate, as well as condiments like ranch dressing and mayo, are a few examples of this trend.

List of 4 Plant-based Dessert Brands to Pick in 2022

NOOPS: 

Noops, launched in July 2020, is a start-up company that offers a range of plant-based puddings made from organic oat milk, organic sunflower seed protein, and organic dates. The company says that this superfood pudding is part of its plan to revive the pudding category with clean and nutritious ingredients. This brand has debuted in New York City.

PARADISE SNAX:

Paradise Snax’s organic vegan food portfolio includes icings, dips, and snacks made from pea protein. The company offers snack and dip combo packs as well as larger sweet dip packs. The company says it is the world’s only organic, sweet plant-based protein icings/dips. The products are aimed at the US market for now.

TRIBE HUMMUS:

Tribe is an established name in hummus in the US and has been in this space for 25 years with a wide range of savory hummus options. But thanks to growing interest in the space, Tribe has expanded its reach to dessert hummus with dairy-free, soy-free, and vegan-friendly products. The base is, not surprisingly, chickpeas.

FREAKS OF NATURE:

Across the pond, Freaks of Nature in the UK has a range of plant-based puddings and mousses. The base ingredients for the different products vary, but all of the desserts are dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, and vegan-friendly.

The company announced in July 2020 that it was investing GBP1 million in expanding its production capacity to meet growing consumer demand for the products. It expects to be producing 8.5-10 million pots of desserts a year in 2021-22.

Expect to see many more innovative plant-based desserts in the coming year, especially as the interest in plant-based foods solidifies.