Recent insights from industry experts reveal challenges facing plant-based brands as they struggle to maintain consumer interest.
Ian Hepburn, the marketing director at Flora Food Group, has issued a cautionary note to plant-based brands, emphasising the need to focus on taste and performance. According to Hepburn, failure to do so risks marginalising these brands within the consumer market.
Speaking with Grocery Gazette, Hepburn noted that plant-based products often centre their marketing strategies around the ‘vegan’ label. He argued that this approach does not align with consumer priorities, which tend to focus on taste and functionality. To remain appealing to consumers, brands should position their products as viable alternatives with pleasing taste and performance.
Hepburn highlighted Flora’s own strategy shift, where taste and performance are prioritised in their messaging, and plant-based attributes are communicated more subtly. Hepburn stated, ‘Increasingly we talk about taste and performance, and only add as a “by the way” that the products are plant-based. It’s not necessarily something we lead with because what we’re leading is with great taste’.
This perspective aligns with views from other industry leaders, including Mathew Mills of Deliciously Ella, who warned of a division within the plant-based community. Mills highlighted the decline of brands mimicking meat due to overestimated consumer demand, contrasting this with the growth seen in more naturally-focused plant-based products.
The market shifts are becoming evident, as seen with Allplants, a once-promising plant-based brand that recently faced financial difficulties. The brand’s move into administration and subsequent layoffs underscore the challenges of sustaining demand amidst changing consumer preferences. This trend may signal to other plant-based brands the importance of evolving product offerings to match consumer expectations.
The insights shared by industry experts underscore a critical turning point for plant-based brands. By prioritising flavour and usability, these brands can avoid the pitfalls of becoming too niche and losing consumer interest. Adapting marketing strategies to focus on these attributes may prove essential for long-term success in the competitive food industry.
