Everyone eats vegan food. You, me, your mom, your neighbor, the guy who pumped your gas that one time in New Jersey…everyone. If you’ve eaten an apple, you’ve eaten vegan. Vegan food is, afterall, just food, and that fact is what many vegan CPG brands are trying to make clear to all consumers.
In 2017, 39% of Americans were looking to reduce meat consumption in their diet. Whether they are all-in vegans spamming their friends and family with links to the Forks Over Knives documentary, or regular ole’ meat eaters looking to trim the fat on their plate, there’s no denying the market for palatable plants is hot. Consumers today are more conscious of how their food choices affect their health, the environment and fellow living creatures, and are looking for products to help them alter their eating habits. This increase in conscious consumption is opening the door to vast veggie-focused opportunities for brands willing to serve up that green good good.
You Can’t Sit with Us
There’s traditionally been a great divide between vegans and non-vegans, causing not only heated disagreements over the morality and necessity of eating animal products, but a physical difference in access to our respective food options. Often, vegan products are directed to specific restaurants and specialty grocery stores that overtly cater to plant-based diets, creating some tough growth hurdles for plant-based brands to overcome. However, vegan goods are slowly but surely breaking into mainstream shelves and menus as their product quality and variety continues to improve. In fact, vegan options, including plant-based meat and cheese alternatives, have become so popular that by April 2018, their retail sales had grown by 30% and 45%, respectively. Meanwhile, more traditional vegan foods like tofu and granola dropped to -1.3% in the same time period.
The consumer interest in more plant-based food options has opened doors not only in grocery retail, but the restaurant industry, as well. From big chains including Chipotle and Kentucky Fried Chicken, to small mom and pop’s, menus (and minds!) are expanding. Most notably, the house of the vegan devil himself, Burger King, has recently introduced the Impossible Whopper, which is made of 100% plant-based ingredients. While a great step in the diet-inclusivity direction, it is important to note that the Impossible Whopper doesn’t quite hit the vegan or vegetarian-friendly mark*, so be aware if you’re hankering for some meat-free BK.
The Angry Vegan = The Hungry Consumer
Vegans have a bit of a reputation. Warranted or not, many are viewed as skinny, angry, hippy-dippy folks who love to tell you they’re vegan and shame those who aren’t. Vegan food has also garnered its own bad rap as bland, weird, rabbit food. However, these stereotypes are getting old as more and more consumers find value in the diet and the food industry ups its innovation game. According to a 2017 Neilsen study, only 3% of American’s live a strictly vegan lifestyle, however 19.5% of food and beverage retail sales were from plant-based products. Nowadays, “vegan food” isn’t just for vegans and *gasp* many non-vegans enjoy it without even realizing what they’re eating.
Some vegans are angry because of the animal atrocities being unnecessarily done in the meat industry. Some vegans are angry because all they want is an ooey gooey cheeseburger, but their doctor says eating one will give them a heart attack. And some vegans are angry because being hangry is a real thing and I don’t care how many legumes you eat, they just aren’t a steak. No matter the reason, angry vegans are hungry customers and smart companies are capitalizing on their appetite.
Vegans are People, too!
A vegan may never get the satisfaction of a buffalo wing dipped in blue cheese dressing, but that doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate and desire drool-worthy food options. In response to the increased consumer need, brands catering to the plant-based diet have made some serious improvements in texture, flavor and variety of vegan-friendly foods. So much so, that some brands aren’t even overtly advertising their vegan status in order to target all audiences. Take chickpea puff company, Hippeas as an example. Their happy yellow branding is irresistible and the bright bags practically jump off the shelf into unsuspecting carts. Serious snackers looking for quality ingredients can now find the satisfaction of Cheetos in USDA Certified Organic, Certified Gluten-Free, non-GMO, kosher, and (surprise!) vegan, chickpea puffs.
At LMS we worked with Hippeas to expand their consumer base and promote the release of new product flavors through influencer marketing. In addition to their established vegan audience, our program strategically targeted non-vegan social media influencers, as well, and the (successful!) content they produced largely didn’t even mention the V-word. Ultimately, the program presented Hippeas as simply a great snack option, rather than a specifically vegan snack option, helping to push the brand into a larger, more profitable market.
“Clean ingredients are appealing across the board and vegan products garner lots of attention,” says Kirsten Hicks, LMS Account Manager and lead for the Hippeas’ influencer program. “Influencers have been really excited to try a vegan snack as a ‘better-for-you’ option.” Hicks says the fact that Hippeas was so successful across all influencers, vegan or not, speaks to the climate of the wellness industry.
Save the Animals, Save the World
The current social climate around environmental issues is also making a solid case for the rise of vegan products. According to a study by Worldwatch, animal agriculture contributes 51% of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, 1-2 acres of rainforest is cleared every minute for livestock to graze. The current Amazon blaze is shining a spotlight on deforestation and enlightening consumers to the fact that their meat consumption costs much more than the life of a single animal.
The buzz around the plant-based lifestyle is everywhere, including, of course, social media. On Instagram alone, #vegan clocks in over 83 million posts, not counting #veganfood, #veganrecipes, #plantbased, and on and on. Brands catering to the vegan lifestyle have a great opportunity to capitalize on the rise in consumer interest, media coverage and access to a variety of audiences through social platforms. So what’s the best way to take advantage of all this vegan chatter?
Social media influencers.
According to a 2019 Rakuten study, 41% of consumers said they find at least one new brand or product from an influencer weekly. To top that, a whopping 87% of surveyed consumers saying that they were inspired to make a purchase based on what they saw from an influencer. For the vegan market, this data is so promising! As we saw in our work with Hippeas, and have seen with many of our clients, influencer recommendations are equivalent to a friend’s suggestion. Whether a consumer is vegan or not, their interest in a vegan product can be piqued to the point of purchase by something as simple as an Instagram Story from an influencer they trust.
Those who are investing in influencer marketing are seeing a $6.50 ROI for every dollar spent. As an affordable and effective branch of marketing, we at LMS have helped brands of all sizes reap the benefits of working with social media influencers. Whether new to the industry or an established brand, influencers can help bring awareness to your products, values and company as a whole. Not to mention, they generate sales and create quality content that can in turn be used on your brand’s social accounts. In fact, 51% of consumers said that seeing user generated content (UGC) would increase their chances of buying products through a brand’s social media. Influncer marketing is a win-win, plant and simple.
Hungry for more information on influencer marketing? Check out our work and give LMS a shout today!