Plant-based players need to beef up their messaging in 2024

Last year was rough for the plant-based space. 

The once fast-growing category, fueled by a range of factors, saw a major slowdown in sales throughout 2023. Many players, both big and small, either exited the space, curtailed innovation or cut jobs.

Since the sector’s boom in 2019, two alternative protein pioneers have led the industry have dominated and made themselves household names — Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Like the category overall though, these companies have hit bumps in the road with maintaining growth and delivering to consumers’ needs.  

“It’s important to remember this industry is really just getting started,” Leslie Sims, chief marketing officer at Impossible Foods, said in a statement to Food Dive. 

Both Beyond and Impossible have made operational changes in 2023 (and 2024), including layoffs, consolidating manufacturing bases, executive shifts and reprioritizing product lines. 

“When your own operations are going smooth, it makes it much easier to then also have that flow through in the way you’re interacting with your customers,” Jennifer Bartashus, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said in an interview with Food Dive. 

“A lot of the hard work that Beyond Meat, Impossible and others have done in the last year to improve internally is really critical to setting up the foundation for success and pulling consumers back into the brands,” said Barashus.

The need to cast a wide net

To gain momentum in the new year, Impossible Foods says it is looking to grow its consumer base. “We want to continue reaching more meat lovers and flexitarians, but we have to get the message right,” Sims said. “We want to be inclusive and not have people feel judged for loving meat, and show them they don’t have to change their lifestyle in order to help the planet or their health.”

The messaging from plant-based companies thus far has been less than inclusive, Bartashus said. “At the heart of the issue, what these companies are trying to do is spur consumer interest. And when you’re in a young and developing industry, and I still consider plant-based meat alternatives a relatively young industry, you have to cast a wide net.” 

Companies need to regain focus on what their narratives are, Bartashus said. “There’s a delicate balance between not alienating people,” she said. “There are benefits to doing a line of promotions around potential health and environmental benefits, but you can’t try to do everything at once, because then it just becomes convoluted.”

Looking ahead to the new year, Impossible is focused on gaining the attention of more consumers by broadening its marketing tactics, Sims said. 

“What we really have is a messaging problem more than a product problem. We have to challenge misconceptions and dispel myths, and we have to be more proactive in talking about the nutritional benefits of our products,” Sims said. “We have to play defense and offense at the same time, and there’s an art to that. This will be a major focus for us next year.”

Meati makes headway with a new message

While these household names — Beyond and Impossible —  in the space look to gain more customers as they grow, up-and-coming brands, such as Meati Foods, are hoping to catch that wide net from the get. 

The Boulder, Colorado-based company has taken a different approach to marketing and has never identified as simply “plant based.” 

When you think about some of the “heritage players” in the alternative protein space like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, said Meati COO Scott Tassani, they have done a good job at getting consumers to give their products a try, but are not seeing that turnover in terms of repeat purchasers. “They have an appeal from a sustainability standpoint, but they’re not necessarily seeing a receipt of success, and it’s because of the experience they offer,” he said.

Meati doesn’t position itself as being particularly anti-meat either, whereas some players have used language to demote the use of animal products in food. This allows Meati to give consumers an experience that is not built on guilt or shame surrounding the idea of choosing to eat plant-based or not. 

“There is enough polarization in the world today, we don’t need it in the food we eat, too,” Tassan said. 

Source: fooddive.com

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