For the food industry, the future is now
Prices for meat, dairy, and eggs are rising. Are vegetarian options ready for their close-up?
For consumers these days, the four-letter word that dominates today’s conversation is… eggs.
With the rise of H5 bird flu triggering shortages and causing costs to skyrocket, could this current egg crisis foreshadow more shifts in agriculture brought on by climate shocks and concerns about factory farming? In this moment it’s time for vegetarian alternatives to press the advantage by focusing not on their ethics but on their economics. In January alone, sales of EAT JUST’s Just Egg, a mung-bean-derived egg replacement, grew five times faster than in the past year.
Still, the alternative protein market is growing more slowly than investors and executives would like. Sales of plant-based meat have declined in certain regions, particularly in the US, and according to Fortune, cultivated meat companies saw a 40% drop in VC backing last year. A recent Nature paper reveals that most consumers associate alt proteins with being "unnatural," express feelings of disgust, and may outright refuse to try these products.
As these companies navigate a tricky messaging environment, they must crack the code to reach the average consumer. Empty egg shelves are just the tip of the iceberg: Today’s consumers are caught in the crossfire between factory farming's dark shadow and processed food paranoia. In recent years, consumers have increasingly considered animal welfare issues in their food choices, although this can be directly at odds with an increasing preference for "clean" and minimally processed foods.
So how can innovators craft narratives that truly resonate with consumers? Let's explore effective strategies.
Finding the Messaging Sweet Spot
First, messaging needs to strike a balance between these competing concerns. Consumers are increasingly reaching for environmentally and socially responsible products, according to a joint study from McKinsey and NielsenIQ. Clean food companies focusing on climate impact can sway environmentally-conscious consumers, as demonstrated by Impossible Foods – the fastest-growing plant-based meat company.
With each product launch, they produce Life Cycle Assessment (LCAs) to show the overall impact of their products compared to animal meat – this 360-review of the environmental impact, from crib to cradle, is just what consumers are after. The company has crunched the numbers and continues to tout that eating Impossible Beef over their animal counterpart uses 96% less land, 92% less water, and produces 91% less greenhouse gases. Quorn also made headlines when it cleverly added CO₂ footprint to their packaging, in a move that was well-received by consumers and environmental groups alike. Alt protein companies are letting data tell the story, and this is going to continue to be key to fighting dwindling sales.
As new plant-based products hit shelves and discussions of cultivated meat progress, focusing on health concerns is common ground that gives any comms strategy a leg up.
Nutritional information is essential for consumers. 80% of shoppers report routinely consulting the Nutrition Facts panel when deciding what food to buy. Meati, whose catchpase is “there's a new meat in town” exemplifies this. Putting nutrition front and center on their website, users are immediately drawn to the nutritional breakdown of their products, like their classic cutlet, which shows it is indeed a complete protein that provides 30% of the daily value, 25% of daily fiber, 100% of the B9/folate (a vegan’s dream) and other minerals, like zinc.
While consumers may struggle with longer ingredient lists on vegetarian products, straightforward communication pays dividends. In today’s food system, consumers want to know what is in their food as well as where it comes from. In fact, in a recent report, 72% of respondents indicated that transparency is extremely important to them when deciding which food brands to support. The language that Lightlife uses, like “take a look inside we have nothing to hide” and “chances are our ingredients are on your grocery list.” Taking on an advocacy role, the company has also called on industry leaders to abandon GMOs and switch to cleaner, plant-based ingredients.
At the same time, consumers want to maintain autonomy. Language is of utmost importance: it’s best to frame alt protein innovations as solutions and not substitutes. Companies should ditch the binary, black-or-white thinking to gain mass appeal. Speaking on marketing meat alternatives, Impossible CEO Peter McGuinness summed this up in an interview: “We kind of insulted the very people we wanted to have try our product… You don’t vilify people, you don’t judge people; you invite people to try your products…” Companies can think creatively about how they describe their creations – like Meati, which rarely categorizes their food as “vegan” or “plant-based” and just calls it just good old-fashioned “nutrient-dense food” that provides “whole-food protein.”
Overcoming the "Ick" Factor Through Storytelling
Effective storytelling propels this further to help vegetarian products tackle their PR problem: At one point, foods like sushi and cheeses were considered strange. What’s taboo now can become culturally accepted through strategic storytelling. For any protein product – whether it’s cultivated from cells or made from mushrooms – companies must communicate that they're offering foods that taste great, and have a great story behind them.
Companies that humanize the innovation journey can stand out – by diving into the source of their inspiration, from health concerns to an environmental epiphany, or by pulling back the curtain on the R&D process.
Spotlighting the scientists and chefs behind products helps: UPSIDE Foods’ partnership with visionary Michelin chef Dominique Crenn or Meati’s “Culinary Collective” campaign featuring celebrated chefs both build consumer trust. Leveraging “early adopters" through authentic testimonials also addresses initial skepticism head-on: Redefine Meat, a maker of 3D-printed plant-based steaks, partnered with ”unapologetic meat lovers” as well as renowned Michelin star chefs to cut through the noise.
Innovators can’t be afraid to get creative and take their campaigns to new heights — which Nature’s Fynd is doing (literally). Partnering with NASA, the company has emphasized how their technology could feed astronauts on Mars missions, pique consumer imagination and interest. All of these strategies help break down skepticism into interest and excitement.
Relatability Wins the Day
Communicators must think about connecting with the cultural and societal context of the target audience. Companies that tie their value proposition to the bigger picture, whether that’s current events or the wider foodtech landscape, will resonate. Revisiting the egg crisis that’s unfolding, Crunchbase covers how startups innovating egg substitutes are “poaching” new customers. However, from a PR perspective, there has been surprisingly limited newsjacking – a missed opportunity to help plant-based egg companies steal the thunder.
Beyond timely connections, companies need to build cultural relevance in other ways. Showing how new options enhance rather than replace cultural food traditions creates acceptance. For example, Prime Roots pays homage to the heritage of their star ingredient, koji-based protein, emphasizing koji's thousand-year history in Asian cuisine as the foundation for their innovation. EAT JUST has dozens of recipes on their site that take on classics from varying regions, like Korean vegetable pancakes, while also featuring celebrity concoctions from athletes like ultramarathoner Scott Jurek and basketball legend Chris Paul.
The feedback loop is equally important: Companies must proactively tackle criticism and skepticism while keeping communication lines open. This will be the north star to building long-lasting trust to help sales rise once again. Nuggs, for example, leveraged a unique "beta testing" approach, positioning their product as "software" that gets updated based on user feedback.
A recent New York Times piece highlights how Impossible Foods and Beyond Meats are trying to distance themselves from the ultraprocessed label, which includes Beyond reformulating some products to cut saturated fat and sodium and simplify its ingredient list, and Impossible Foods launching a “health hub.” These companies are demonstrating their commitment to consumers, which we think will be key to help bolster sales and market mindshare amid this critical crossroad.
Making Meatless Options Mainstream
The key takeaway: communication can’t be an afterthought for the industry – it will go hand-in-hand with the success of the entire alt protein market. While the US plant-based retail market rapidly expanded from 2019 to 2021 and has seen “long-term progress” overall, according to Good Food Institute, 2023 faced a more challenging market with sales moderating in 2022 and declining in 2023. Media is taking notice, calling for the industry to “reinvent itself.”
Like any emerging technology, turning the tide of public perception will take time, but it’s imperative to start communicating now. Strong communications planning and innovative narratives are the best ways to win consumers. Already, many companies throughout the new food ecosystem are developing an authentic brand voice that shows off their unique value proposition, but the industry needs to take this to the next level.
The wider market and individual consumer appetite will only continue to evolve, so companies have to be prepared to adjust and adapt to help alt proteins live up to the hype.
Finally… here are some of the stories we’ve been telling:
☁️ TikTok bets big on carbon removal
Climeworks sat down with Inc to discuss their new agreements with TikTok to remove over 5,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere over the next five years. The partnership will use a combination of Climeworks' direct air capture technology, reforestation, and biochar techniques – all to help establish TikTok as “a first mover” in this space.
🤝 Rethinking climate strategy to win over the right
The US has never had comprehensive climate policy but rather fragmented approaches supporting specific technologies, including carbon removal. Carbon180’s Executive Director, Erin Burns penned a byline for The Guardian on why it’s time to rethink how climate action can succeed and why we need to “stop pretending climate action is only about climate.”
🚢 $70M to slash shipping emissions
Axios covers how STAX Engineering announced $70 million in funding this week co-led by Firstime Credit and Deutsche Bank, alongside the launch of new carbon capture trials with Seabound. The investment will drive scaling the deployment of STAX's emissions capture and control technology while advancing carbon capture initiatives – bringing the company closer to its goal of capturing 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions.