Impossible Foods, Beyond Burgers, And Plant-Based Meat

Issues

1. Plant-based meats and other food products have marked great success in many regions, but companies that are offering these products are not so profitable. So, what can these companies offer to their audience to establish trust and confidence despite many cultural barriers?
2. The plant-based meat industry will automatically replace the traditional meal brands, and therefore, these brands, to stay competitive in the market, will oppose the marketing campaigns by the plant-based companies. Under such a scenario, how is it possible that plant-based companies can reach an expanded volume of consumers by avoiding government restrictions?

Analysis

There is no doubt that plant-based meat and milk have been proven to have the same benefits and taste as traditional dairy and food products. Many consumers have supported this statement, which shows the growing consumer market for such brands. However, this may be true in one region; other parts of the world with different ethnic and cultural norms can exhibit great hindrance to the success of these products. For example, in India where, a large population considers cows as a sacred entity, and they never eat meat following their religious traits. So, offering an alternative meat solution under the slogan of clean meat or vegetable meat is not going to be fruitful. This is one of the fundamental concepts in marketing, and all marketing campaigns should be oriented around regional norms and trends, even if they can sometimes go against the international marketing policy of the brands. Without this, it becomes nearly impossible to compete with the local brands which best represent the cultural values of their people. This is also the reason why McDonald’s and other food brands have been so successful in many countries around the world.

Similarly, introducing a new product in the market is never easy, and replacing the whole market becomes even more difficult. Unlike technologically innovative products, which consumers find very luxurious and convenient, food products are not much welcomed because they involve many cultural and consumer behaviour restrictions. Also, the competitors make their utmost efforts to defame the new products using different tactics, and this has been experienced by plant-based meat companies, which has consequently led to many government restrictions. Thus, as much as targeting the right audience is important, targeting them with the most efficient campaigns and value propositions is important as well. And when it comes to targeting a global audience and launching your product in different parts of the world with different political structures, the right marketing strategy is very important. Another similar factor that drives the consumption of a specific product is its price. Due to a smaller number of plant-based meat sales, they are relatively expensive, which possibly demotivates people to buy these products. However, with effective marketing and business strategies, these problems can be easily overcome, and in this regard, some recommendations have been stated below.

Recommendations

1. Plant-based meat products need to break their association with traditional meat as it can badly impact their growth in markets where people have some cultural or religious associations with animals, especially in Asia.
2. The prices of these products should be lowered to make them competitive with the meat products. Moreover, to achieve sustainable growth, more diverse products need to be launched that can offer them a kind of novelty in the food industry.
3. The plant ingredients can also be used in various distinctive ways while improving their functionality, and instead of offering a food alternative to milk and meat, they can potentially be used to meet other food needs as well.