Pass the Tofurky, Please

(page 2 of 2)

And the allure to the palate derives not only from vegetarian foods that mimic the taste of meat. "I'm more inclined to buy something that has its own identity," says Terrie Piell, an insurance-services marketing manager and mother of two young children in Flemington, N.J. "I like Gardenburger's mushroom and wild rice patties."

Houston's, an upscale chain of restaurants, reports that many carnivores order its notably popular veggie burger—made with black beans, prunes, and other animal-product-free ingredients—simply because they enjoy its flavor, non-meaty though it is. St. Louis professor Peter Coogan counts himself a fan. "It's surprisingly good," says Coogan, who teaches at Fontbonne University. "The first time I ordered it, I tried to send it back because it looked so much like a real hamburger. But it has its own taste."

Buying the Competition

Despite the growing popularity of such vegetarian restaurant and grocery-store fare, no one in the industry seems to be talking about purveyors of meat and dairy products taking any financial hit.

One reason: Food conglomerates are hedging their bets by buying smaller companies that produce vegetarian products. Kraft (KFT) now owns Boca, of vegetarian burger fame. Dean Foods (DF) has WhiteWave, maker of the popular Silk line of soy milk beverages, and Kellogg (K) has meatless sausage and burger maker Morningstar Farms. ConAgra (CAG) recently bought Lightlife, which sells meat substitutes such as Smart Bacon.

Smaller, independent makers of vegan and vegetarian foods say that despite their success, they've barely taken a nibble out of their conventional counterparts. "We're not competing with Hershey's (HSY)," says Hank McKowen, owner of Dolphin Natural Chocolates, a Watsonville, (Calif.) maker of vegan chocolates sweetened with fruit juice. "Our competitors are other vegan chocolate producers."

A Mother's Veggie Love

McKowen also cites a trend mirrored by much of the vegan and vegetarian industry: that females still buy more than males. "Most of our consumers are women over 35," says McKowen. Data from the Vegetarian Resource Group, a nonprofit educational organization, revealed that 9% of women say they never eat meat, while only 5% of men make the same claim.

"Many women are looking for healthy food for their children," says Charles Stahler, co-director of the Vegetarian Resource Group, which is based in Baltimore. "They may serve meat to their husbands—but not to their kids."

Another somewhat predictable trend: These products go over better on the health-conscious East and West Coasts than they do in the heartland. "We do great on the East Coast, in San Francisco, and parts of the Southwest," says McKowen. "We don't do well in the middle of the country."

Tibbott reports that Tofurky products enjoy healthier sales in blue states, although they're sold in all 50. "We don't sell a lot in South Dakota," he says, "but we do sell some."

See the slide show.

Reisner is an editor at BusinessWeek.com.