Winning Over Tastebuds: Strategies for Promoting Plant-Based Foods – vegconomist
Promoting plant-based food brands in today’s competitive market can be challenging, but your business can stand out and make a lasting impact with the right strategies.
In its latest New Food Hub article, ProVeg International collaborates with Joe Hill, co-founder of One Planet Pizza, who shares his top tips for marketing plant-based products. Drawing from his experience building a plant-based pizza brand, Joe offers essential tips to capture consumers’ attention, win over sceptics, and create a buzz around plant-based offerings.
Taste is still king
It’s easy to forget just how important a role taste plays in food. And in the plant-based world, it’s even more crucial to nail great taste. “Research now shows that most consumers will try something new plant-based once, and if they don’t like the taste of it, they won’t be returning,” Joe explains.
Winning over new shoppers and non-vegans is critical in growing this sector. So, Joe suggests having, at most, two or three unique selling points (USPs) or key callouts when promoting your product or brand. The co-founder advises, “Be clear on what problems you solve for your target audience – for example, an affordable, healthier protein source – and keep this hierarchy consistent across all channels and touchpoints.”
“For us at One Planet Pizza,” Joe continues, “this is that we are: one, healthier, with 30% less fat and a sourdough base, and two, sustainable, focusing on how plant-based pizzas can help lower one’s dietary carbon footprint. This, alongside being the best tasting, highest quality plant-based pizza brand, is our overarching proposition to shoppers.”
Getting these fundamentals right and sticking to them will help make your marketing and promotion much clearer and easier to execute.
So, how does One Planet Pizza achieve its goals? “We focus most of our social media attention on sampling and feedback, to show everyone how great our pizzas taste. “Only do we talk about our additional benefits to health and the planet,” Joe says, “once we’ve enticed people through their tastebuds.”
Lasting impact
Promoting a plant-based food brand in today’s competitive market requires a strategic focus on key elements that resonate with consumers. Drawing from Joe’s experience with One Planet Pizza, it is evident that prioritising taste, having clear unique selling points, and maintaining consistent messaging across all channels are vital to capturing and retaining customer interest.
By emphasising superior taste and additional benefits – like health and sustainability – plant-based brands can effectively win over new shoppers, including non-vegans, and create a lasting impact.
Consistent, taste-driven promotion, combined with clear communication of the product’s unique advantages, can help plant-based brands stand out and succeed in a crowded marketplace.
Head to the New Food Hub to read the full article and unlock Joe’s remaining top tips. For more support on your plant-based strategy, get in touch with ProVeg’s team of experts at [email protected].
