The plant-based category is evolving, but are brands and retailers keeping up? In this opinion piece, Elin Roberts, co-founder and co-CEO of UK tempeh brand Better Nature, takes a closer look at the labelling of vegan foods to uncover how we’ve been getting it wrong and how we can move forward.
I’m sure you’ve heard the news. Sales of vegan foods have nosedived. Because people don’t care about cutting out animal products anymore, or so it is suggested… The truth? It’s not that vegan food isn’t selling because it’s vegan. It’s because we’ve been marketing it in a way that doesn’t do it justice.
When the plant-based boom kicked off, there was a real sense of excitement. The word ‘vegan’ alone was powerful enough to grab attention. Consumers were drawn to it for all sorts of reasons – ethical, environmental, even just to be on-trend. But now the novelty has worn off, that same label is no longer enough to drive sales. Worse still, it's sometimes working against us.
Research shows that meat-eating consumers are significantly less likely to choose plant-based foods if they are labelled vegan, with 36% choosing the vegan option when marked as vegan compared to 60% when unmarked.
We’ve reduced entire products – rich in flavour, carefully developed, packed with quality ingredients – to a single word: vegan. ‘Vegan’ nuggets, ‘Vegan’ cupcakes, ‘Vegan’ burgers. These are placeholder names, not compelling propositions. They say what’s not in the product, but nothing about why someone should actually want to eat it.
And here lies the problem. Too much category messaging has been built around restriction, absence or guilt, instead of a celebration of what plant-based food can offer.
The irony? Many of the best plant-based dishes out there are delicious by any standard. You don’t have to be vegan to love a smoky lentil ragu, a creamy cashew korma or a miso-glazed mushroom burger. But when products are marketed solely on what they lack – animal products – they’re seen as substitutes, not stand-outs.
So how do we shift perception and drive wider adoption?
First, we need to lead with flavour. ‘Vegan burger’ becomes ‘Chargrilled miso mushroom burger.’ ‘Vegan pasta’ becomes ‘Garlic tempeh and red wine spaghetti.' These names don’t just sound tastier – they are tastier in the eyes of consumers. They spark curiosity. They build appetite. They tell a story.
Second, we must normalise, not niche. The goal is for plant-based food to feel like food for everyone, not just vegans. That means moving away from large, in-your-face ‘vegan’ labels and instead letting the food do the selling. The people looking for plant-based options will find them, and everyone else won’t feel excluded or put off.
Third, we need to build emotional connection. Provenance, process and storytelling matter. Where were the mushrooms grown? What inspired the flavour pairing? Who’s behind the recipe? How does the brand give back? In a competitive market, these are the details that create preference and brand loyalty.
Ultimately, if we want plant-based food to go truly mainstream, we have to play by the same rules as the rest of the food industry.
Of course, none of this is to say that the word ‘vegan’ has no place. It does – but it should support the story, not be the story. We shouldn’t be afraid to talk about ethics or the environment. But we can’t rely on these things alone to make the sale.
Let’s stop marketing plant-based food like a compromise. Let’s sell it for what it is: exciting, craveable and capable of standing side by side with any other food on the supermarket shelf. Because when we get it right, we’ll not only sell more vegan food, we’ll move closer to the healthier and more sustainable world we’re all working towards.
