Money would be better spent on R&D to continue improving products’ taste and price, which have been key sticking points with consumers, she said, rather than trying to find the industry’s version of cotton’s “The Fabric of Our Lives.”
A senior-level marketer at an alternative dairy startup thinks ads that came from plant-based farmers rather than brands might land better. That would put the work in closer league with the iconic campaigns from collectives like MilkPEP (“Got Milk?”) and the Beef Farmers and Ranchers associations (“Beef, it’s what’s for dinner”).
“Consumers would be more likely to listen to a message if it comes from the small American farmer,” the exec said.
Damage done
Despite $1.4 billion in U.S. retail sales in 2022—a dip of 1% in dollar sales and 8% in unit sales from the prior year, per the Good Food Institute (GFI) and the Plant Based Foods Association—faux meat has a public perception problem evident in months’ worth of damning headlines questioning its viability.
Proponents say the reports of its death are greatly exaggerated: “The plant-based meat story is just beginning, and its growth is not inevitable,” Emma Ignaszewski, associate director of industry intelligence and initiatives at the nonprofit GFI, told Adweek. “But it’s really premature to count it out.”
The total retail beef business in the U.S. is estimated at $100 billion; the plant-based category hovers just over 1% in market share. Plant-based meat pulls better numbers in specialty stores, where food trends begin, with 15% share of total meat sales compared to 2.5% in mass channels, per GFI, though it’s 67% pricier per pound than animal meat.
Dairy alternatives, a substantial category with 16% market share and $2.8 billion in 2022 sales, have also been battered by recent “real” versus “fake” themes in ads from MilkPEP and the California Milk Processor Board.
Meanwhile, corporate lobbyist Rick Berman and his CCF have found new audiences and influencers on social media for messages that paint the category as tech-driven Frankenfood, including a Super Bowl spot from 2020 that ran in a single market (Washington, D.C.).
Given the contentious environment, some industry watchers wonder why a coalition hasn’t already formed.
“Most of the negative attacks started at least four years ago—they’ve been evolving ever since—and it’s very hard to come back once you’ve lost consumer trust,” Jenny Stojkovic, founder of the influential Vegan Women Summit and general partner at VC firm Joyful Ventures. “Moving as a whole and doing the category marketing is long overdue.”
