The Marketing of Vegan Nutrition Products

The Marketing of Vegan Nutrition Products

Introduction:  This assignment is to describe the marketing of a vegan product or product category. It is important to understand the food “science,” food culture and economic model that are driving the development of the food products and the marketing behind it. This section briefly discuss these factors. My description is over-simplified as this isn’t the forum to provide these arguments.

Present Food “Science:” Our present food science breaks what we put into our mouths into various elements such as calories, fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and many other elements. Most research is aimed at defining the effects – both “good” and “bad” – of each individual element. This allows an element of food to be defined as either healthy or not healthy and “nutritional food myths” are developed that profit industry. Examples include:

·      Fat, in particular saturated fat, causes heart disease and contributes to obesity and cancer putting low-fat on the label increases marketability

·      Antioxidants help prevent cancer therefore products that have added antioxidants are healthy and can be labeled as such

·      Vegan foods are naturally low in saturated fats, loaded with antioxidants and vitamins and therefore, are “healthy” for everyone and in fact a vegan diet is better for health and better for the planet.

Present “human body Science:” Our “science” has similarly broken down the human body into elements such as:

·      Organs

·      Bones

·      Glands

·      Muscles

·      Joints

·      Immune system

·      Blood chemistry

·      Hormones

For the most part, these elements are treated as if they are independent of each other. When describing the effects of a certain food element on the human body, often times the focus is on how it relates to a specific element in the human body. Little consideration is given to the effect the entire food product has on any element of the human body or how it may relate to the overall human body (whether this is a natural food such as a whole organic orange or a manufactured power bar doesn’t play into our science). The affects of food products on elements of the human body that aren’t related to the digestive system are pretty much ignored. For example, it is widely held that depression can’t possibly be related to the foods we eat – and the list goes on and on. Little consideration is given to the affects of:

·      How the food has been grown, prepared or processed

·      The synchronicity of how the elements of a food product interact in the body (for example, is there a cumulative or more profound affect of adding several colorings and preservatives to a product)

·      The necessity of synchronicity to be able to utilize various food elements (Most vitamins and minerals need the presence of other vitamins, fats and minerals to be utilized by the human body)

·      The digestibility of a food

·      The anti-nutrients in a vegan food that haven’t been neutralized

This approach supports an industry that engineers foods to appear healthy on a  label. If a food element’s “healthy” status changes, it is easy to quickly reformulate the product to remove the offending element, add a new element and/or redesign the product label to show that the product is really “healthy” after all.

Present Food Culture: Prior to modern communication, i.e., telephone, television, radio and the Internet, food wisdom was passed from generation to generation. At some point in time, the food wisdom of our elders was criticized and efficiently replaced by education from industry, doctors, dieticians and the U.S government. This has allowed “myths” concerning a “proper” diet to be assumed as “fact.” The “myths” support profitable industries and institutions. Because the information comes from sources (such as doctors, highly respected non-profits such as the American Cancer Society and highly esteemed researchers) our culture rapidly believes the “myths” to be true.

Readily accessible media has popularized the myths. Corporations have responded with increasing numbers of engineered foods. “Myths” continue to be developed when the opportunity to exert more influence, make a larger profit or provide an economic advantage over competitors is recognized. Fear, guilt and peer pressure tactics (sounds like a religion!) are used on a daily basis by the media, the government, food suppliers, the medical profession, non-profits and grocery stores.

As our culture gets farther away from our innate wisdom and nourishing foods, widespread medical maladies have sprouted that haven’t been documented in any other age in human history. “Remedies” for these maladies have popped up with little documentation as to their benefit, creating a vicious circle of misinformation leading to new engineered foods, new food “myths” with new fancy labels touting miracle “good-for-you” cures that people are purchasing in desperation to resolve medical maladies or to hopefully prevent new maladies from arising. As these miracle cures prove ineffective, new ones are created, creating demand for new, engineered foods – or “new and improved” versions of existing foods.

Economic Model: While the U.S. is thought of as a free-enterprise system, we have an economic model that is heavily influenced by government and stockholders. Supply and demand play into the picture but are highly driven by corporations, the medical community, the media and government policy. The U.S. government fosters various legislative regulations, supposedly to protect the consumer. Many of the regulations are sponsored by profit driven corporations and special interest groups that appear to have the best interest of the American public but may in fact be harmful or make it more difficult to obtain real food (like raw milk).

The U.S. approach to food “science” and the fractionated approach to the human body allows the food industry to quickly respond to emerging trends and “medical or nutritional breakthroughs.” This model has set up the perfect scenario to promote the idea that a vegan diet is extremely healthy, should be the diet of choice for everyone and that it will save the planet. The following list summarizes some of the events and beliefs that prevail to position a vegan diet as the ideal diet even though many of the beliefs have never been proven to be beneficial and may instead be harmful:

1.     Animal fat and animal foods are bad for humans, are the primary cause of heart disease and have a role in causing cancer, diabetes and obesity

2.     The bad reputation meat has developed due to large factory farms that mistreat animals, doctor the meat supply, cause food-borne illnesses, heavily pollute the environment and increase green house gases

3.     Vegetable agriculture is good for the planet and meat farming is harmful

4.     Vegan foods are high in necessary nutrients like vitamins, fiber and antioxidants and are naturally low in saturated animal fats, thus supposedly preventing cancer, heart disease and diabetes

5.     Vegan foods are beneficial for losing weight

6.     Whatever nutrient that may be missing from the vegan diet can be added to vegan foods or provided in supplements

7.     Vegan foods are less expensive than animal foods to produce and have more potential for profit

8.     Vegan foods are very easy for food corporations to manipulate, creating the perfect product label

9.     Selling vegan foods is highly profitable for the manufacturers and grocers

The Vegan Market: The size and potential of the vegan market is substantial. An article in the Huffington Post titled “Is There a Market for Vegan Food?” by Nil Zacharias dated 3/07/12 states that:

 “ A recent Harris Interactive study commissioned by the Vegetarian Resource Group found that approximately 5% of the U.S. is vegetarian (close to 16 million people) and about half of these vegetarians are vegan. While this may sound like a small number, what's amazing is that the number of vegans in the U.S. has doubled since 2009 to 2.5% of the population. This means that 7.5 million people in the U.S. now eat diets that do not include any animal products. The study also revealed that 33% of Americans are eating vegan/vegetarian meals more often, though they are not vegan or vegetarian. That is over 100 million people, or one third of the country consciously choosing more plant-based foods!”

I found other references from other sources that quoted similar statistics as well. All of the articles indicate people perceive vegan foods to be healthier than non-vegan foods, increasing the interest in and popularity of engineered vegan foods.

The Huffington Post article went on to say:

 “On the other hand, according to USDA forecasts, the average American will consume 12.2% less meat and poultry in 2012 than they did in 2007. Beef consumption has been in decline for about 20 years; the drop in poultry and pork has also been steady for about five years. And this phenomenon is not limited to meat. USDA statistics reveal that per capita egg consumption in the U.S. has been steadily declining for the past six years and average per-capita consumption of cow's milk fell from 24.3 gallons per person in 1994 to 20.8 gallons per person in 2008. At the same time, total retail sales of soy milk, almond milk, rice milk and other plant milks reached $1.33 billion in 2011. If you don't think the growing market for plant-based foods has anything to do with these declining statistics, ask the multi-billion dollar dairy industry! They took the trouble to recently launch an entire ad campaign attacking plant milks.”

Research indicates that vegans tend to be better educated, willing to spend more on food, more health conscious and primarily female. The market is thriving and gaining acceptance everywhere, including regular grocery stores. This trend continues to foster the development of vegan foods with trendy, politically correct nutrition labels that are highly profitable.

Marketing of Select Vegan Products: I had a very difficult time selecting one vegan product/class of vegan products to discuss. I think the vegan products play-acting as dairy and meat substitutes are the most harmful because vegan products can’t replace the benefits of real meat and dairy products but claim to be able to. These products are considered acceptable and healthier substitutes for their animal counterparts. Products include milk, cheese, cream, ice cream and yogurt for dairy substitutes and fake chicken, fish, beef, and pork for meat substitutes.

Marketing of these products attempts to entice, use buzzwords, cover the areas bulleted above, appeal to emotions and teach. Added nutrients like vitamin D, calcium and DHA are prominently displayed. The nutrition facts section looks low in calories, low in fat and especially saturated fats, low in sodium, high in fiber, low in added sugar and high in protein. The ingredient list looks as natural as possible.

Logos: The logos imply healthy and may include a graphic depicting a plant – many include stems and leaves. Here are some examples of brand names and logos for vegan items (some of these brands also sell non-vegan items):

·      Follow Your Heart 

 (promoting vegan and vegetarian foods)

·      Engine 2 Plant-Strong  (created by Whole Foods to promote vegan foods – the story on the website is appealing about a fire station and the experience of the firefighters that went on a vegan diet)

·      Simple Truth  (Kroger’s brand to promote organic and so-called healthy junk food products)

·      Organic Sunshine Burgers 

·      Dr. Praeger’s Sensible Foods (Blessed by Dr. Oz)

·      Beyond Meat (If you get on their website you get a live person trying to communicate with you! Great marketing ploy!)

Packaging: Packaging of fake meat and dairy products are made to look very similar in size and shape to their real counterparts as well as wholesome, recycled and “green.”

The milk substitutes in the refrigerated dairy section are packaged in typical cardboard cartons just like milk. Some brands are now packaged in what looks like old milk bottles.

Deli meat substitute packaging looks very similar to packaged deli meats. Frozen meat substitutes are packaged in similar ways to their frozen meat counterparts. The meat crumbles or nugget packages look very similar to Tyson meat product packaging. Imitation hamburger patty packages look very similar to their real meat counterparts.

Claims on vegan substitute packaging: Buzzwords and phrases are prominently displayed on the packages. The buzzwords include “low to nonfat”, “saturated or trans fat free”, “high in antioxidants”, vegan, all natural, heart healthy, high in fiber, non-GMO, low in calories or sugar, etc.

The fake dairy products have added calcium and vitamin D and proudly proclaim more vitamin D and calcium than milk. The word “enriched” may be large and prominently displayed as well. Labels will include “low in saturated fat and cholesterol”, “excellent source of vitamin D and riboflavin”, “reduced sugar”, “soy-free”, lactose-free, “50% more calcium than dairy milk,” all-natural, etc.

            The meat substitutes have vegan or meatless prominently displayed. They usually make claims that they taste delicious! Other claims include, naturally cholesterol free, GMO-free, high in protein, low in calories, heart healthy, simply made from grains and vegetables, meat free, fiber, etc.

What’s wrong with this? Some of the problems with all of this include:

1.     All vegan, processed foods have been highly processed and engineered to look healthy according to popular “myths.” This is misleading as many, if not all of the nutrients have been compromised and will provide little, if any value and may actually cause harm.

2.     Chemicals and colorings have been added to overcome the look, texture and unappealing taste due to the harsh processing. These additives may cause harm.

3.     Nutrients are added back as required by the latest food “myth” in unnatural quantity and quality causing potential harm. Since the body needs the synchronicity of various food elements to be metabolized, these unnatural quantities and substances can wreak havoc.

4.     As discovered by Dr. Price and other researchers, and as proven by many studies, saturated fat in our diet is critical for many processes as well as the fat-soluble activators (like A, B12, D and K2), known substances (like CoQ10), and as yet unknown substances found only in animal foods. Vegan foods can’t provide these. Some can be added back in but the sources are questionable at best and may cause harm. Some can’t be added back in. Saturated fat is required for many of these nutrients to work and vegan diets are naturally low in saturated fats and void of animal saturated fats.

5.     Many of the vegan dairy products are manufactured from foods that are high in anti-nutrients, like nuts and grains or high in unhealthy unsaturated fats like hemp milk or flax milk.

6.     Many of the vegan meat products are made from unfermented, isolated soy products, gluten, grains, nuts and beans. All of these may be harmful or contain harmful anti-nutrients if not prepared properly. In addition, there are harmful polyunsaturated oils and all sorts of excitotoxins and harmful food additives in these products. Widespread belief is that these products are perfectly safe to eat and can easily replace meat in the diet.

7.     Because vegan foods are highly profitable, corporations, marketers, grocers and medical “science” support the vegan diet and encourage Americans to switch to the vegan lifestyle.

Specific Vegan Product: I decided to look a little more in-depth at some of the meat products.

Market for vegan meat products: According to Delish.com, a website promoted by MSN.com, in an article titled “Where’s the Meat? Vegan Substitutes Gain Popularity” dated March 21, 2012:

“110 meat substitute products were introduced to grocery stores in 2010 and 2011. These added options are giving people who don't eat meat a lot more choices and increasing the likelihood that more people will go vegan in the future. In fact, a market research group called SymphonyIRI Group found that frozen meat substitute sales alone achieved a high of $267 million in 2011.

Better quality and diversified meat substitute options are also making the jobs of vegan and vegetarian animal rights activists easier. The Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) hopes to convince people to limit the amount of meat they consume. Typically the FARM uses graphic footage of the animal industries to persuade people to reduce meat consumption.”

According to Mintel.com, a market research company, in an article titled “More than one-third of Americans consume meat alternatives, but only a fraction are actually vegetarians” dated August 12, 2013:

“Only a few years ago, tofu, tempeh and seitan were barely known in the culinary world. Now, they are on grocery store shelves across America and being cooked up in the average (and often non-vegetarian) kitchen. In new research released today from Mintel, only 7% of consumers identify themselves as vegetarian, however 36% indicate the use of meat alternatives. What’s more, less than half of consumers who use meat alternatives are using the products in place of real meat, and 16% indicate using the products alongside meat offerings.

This data suggests that participation in the alternative meat category stretches far beyond necessity, and creates an opportunity for future growth based on the products’ ability to meet general consumer food interests, such as health, price, variety and convenience,” says Beth Bloom, food and drink analyst at Mintel. “The bottom line is that vegetarians and vegans aren’t the only people eating “fake” meat, meat eaters are also exploring this new found protein superpower.”

Other websites indicate the same types of statistics and trends. The vegan meat market is alive, healthy and growing.

Product I chose: I chose Boca Ground Crumbles because they have been around a long time, are well known and are proudly served as a meat substitute at some restaurants I have visited. Boca is owned by Kellogg, who also owns Morningstar Farms brand, another producer of popular vegan meat products. This provides Boca with a healthy budget for aggressive marketing.

I found a humorous situation that truly highlights marketing genius when I looked at their products and at their website. Here are some interesting facts about Boca Ground Crumbles:

1.     Boca Ground Crumbles are recommended by PETA on their website (http://www.peta.org/living/food/favorite-products/).

2.     Boca offers 2 types of Ground Crumbles, both intending to be substitutes for ground beef.

3.     The first, pictured here, is their Ground Crumbles. 

The ingredients listed on the resealable bag are: water, soy protein concentrate, wheat gluten, contains less than 2% malt extract, salt, wheat starch, yeast extract, sugar, natural flavor (non-meat), dried onions, garlic powder, spices. The label states the product is 90% less fat than ground beef, is an excellent source of protein and it is Weight Watchers endorsed 2 pointsplus value per serving.

When a discerning vegan customer reads the ingredients for this product, there appears to be no harmful chemicals and all of the ingredients are pronounceable and appear to be food based. In reality, the ingredients contain harmful soy products, wheat gluten, and excitotoxins all indicating a harmful product. In addition, there are no fat-soluble activators and no beneficial saturated fats.

The nutrition facts:

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 57g
Servings per Container about 6
Amount per Serving
Calories 60	Calories from Fat 0
	% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0.5g	1 %
Saturated Fat 0g	0 %
Trans Fat 0g	0 %
Cholesterol 0mg	0 %
Sodium 270mg	11 %
Total Carbohydrate 6g	2 %
Dietary Fiber 3g	12 %
Sugars 0g
Protein 13g
Vitamin A 0 %	Vitamin C 0 %
Calcium 6 %	Iron 10 %

The nutrition facts look really good. The product could be interpreted to be low in calories, low in fat with no saturated fats, high in fiber and protein. The product actually contains essentially no valuable nutrition and potentially harmful products.

4.     Boca also contains a Ground Crumbles product that appears to be identical to the product described above, except with blue packaging and the statement “Made with Natural Ingredients” proudly displayed along the top of the package. When I first looked at the label, I interpreted it as “all-natural.” I had to read it twice to really catch the meaning. I am sure that is the intent of the label and that many people interpret this product as “all-natural.”

5.     Here is a picture of the product:

 
The ingredients are exactly the same and the nutritional information is exactly the same. This package does not include the Weight Watchers endorsement. Not sure why anyone would purchase the other product when this one is “natural!” I didn’t find these products together at any of the grocery stores I went to. Mostly I found the red labeled product.

What I have learned: This was a difficult assignment to cull down into a manageable report. It touches on so many problems with our cultural approach to nutrition. I visited a number of grocery stores, both “natural” like Whole Foods Market and “unnatural” like Kroger’s. I have traveled a lot lately and visited stores in Shreveport, Louisiana; Houston, Texas; Galveston, Texas; and many in the Kansas City metropolitan area on both sides of the state line where I live. I took numerous photographs of some of the stores. I analyzed the shelf real estate and how the stores were laid out. I subscribed to NutraIngredients and Food Navigator and read a number of their articles. I searched on line for the various products I found in the grocery stores and looked at their packaging. I read articles on Weston Price such as the article slamming Whole Foods for promoting a vegan agenda. Here are my conclusions:

1.     The article on Whole Foods didn’t really impress me at first because I purchase meat and vegetables there routinely. I don’t purchase the vegan products and rarely purchase any of their processed products and pretty much ignore all areas of the store that sell processed foods. So I thought maybe the article was blown out of proportion. However, when I analyzed the store, I realized that the vast majority of the shelf space is dedicated to vegan and/or vegetarian products (processed egg and dairy products are used in some of the products), implying that this must be where they make the bulk of their money. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that they would promote vegan products.

2.     Mainstream grocery stores either integrate vegan foods into the mainstream foods (and not very successfully nor do these types of stores carry many vegan products) or they put the “health” or “natural” foods in a separate location where they prominently display the vegan foods. Most of the shelf space contains “organic” processed products like chips, cereals, crackers and cookies most vegan or vegetarian. The freezer area is loaded with vegan meats and vegan ice cream. In addition, some of these stores carry organic produce and organic real meat, but for the most part, the sections are small to non-existent and the products very expensive. Even the bulk of most grocery stores are chips, sodas, and cereals, breads –almost exclusively vegan – that are promoted as healthy. Alternative milk products are pretty much available everywhere and have begun to take up larger shelf space. Vegan oils take up a large chunk of space and are promoted as healthy while saturated fats such as lard, tallow or duck fat are pretty non-existent. The space for butter is generally less than the space for butter substitutes. Some stores have also developed a color-coded rating system to rate products on a sliding scale as healthy or unhealthy based on sugar, calories, saturated fat, etc. based on politically correct recommendations. Vegan foods usually rate very high.

3.     The articles in the NutraIngredients and Food Navigator websites were not too surprising. They provide compelling information (to effectively perpetuate the popular food myths) based on what they consider legitimate studies and research to help their subscribers determine new nutritional trends, buzzwords and how to take advantage of marketing tactics. There are links to companies that have just the right additives to give your product a better taste, texture, color, feel, shelf life! They discuss potential drawbacks to chemical additives (such as causing diarrhea) and how to add the product and overcome the side effects. They discuss how to word your list of ingredients to appear more food based and more natural. Everything is driven to make your product look, taste, feel the best it can be to bring the largest profit back to your pocket while seeming to have human health as the ultimate driving force. The chemistry behind all this impresses me even as it makes me deeply sad.

4.     The culture we have created by distancing ourselves from innate wisdom and blindly believing in a science that splinters our foods and splinters the human body into fragments has set up an amazing system for corporate profits and new businesses. From a business perspective, it is genius! Corporations, the medical industry, non-profits are doing a superb job. I can’t fault them for this since our politics drive it. With the profit driven system we have, things aren’t going to change unless people change the products they consume.

5.     Encouraging a vegan diet is the ultimate in taking advantage of the culture we have in engineered foods. Using the raw materials of inexpensive grains, soy, nuts and beans allows an infinite number of products to be developed that can be marketed using the right words, the appearance of the ideal nutritional profile and ideal list of ingredients. With doctors and respectable non-profits blessing the vegan diet, the market outlook for vegan foods appears quite good.

6.     The culture we have created around nutrition and medicine (they can’t be separated) allows most people to distance themselves from being responsible for their health. We are taught that disease just happens, “you have bad genes,” it is your “lot” in life, it was my turn to get “cancer, heart disease, depression, diabetes, etc.,” The prevailing belief is that food may provide some input into preventing some of these diseases but isn’t all that important, especially if your diet is following the “myth” of the day and you are consuming products with a healthy looking label. The vegan diet has been popularized by claiming it can help prevent all of the big label diseases of our day.

7.     It was discouraging to complete this assignment. The concept of getting people to believe a vegan diet is harmful (and extend that to all processed foods) is going to take education outside of the normal methods. This includes word of mouth, social media, and innovative educational opportunities. I see more information being shared by social media and it seems to be making a difference. I am beginning to see more articles questioning some of the ingredients used to make vegan meats in mainstream publications like Men’s Journal, airline magazines, daily newspapers, etc. I found this article titled “Why Vegetarians are Eating Meat “ in foodandwine.com dated August 2007 with a tagline of “A growing number of vegetarians are starting to eat humanely raised meat. Christine Lennon talks to a few converts—including her husband and famed author Mollie Katzen.”

I really liked this excerpt:

 “Former vegetarians are some of the most outspoken proponents of eating meat. ‘I was vegan for 16 years, and I truly believed I was doing the right thing for my health,’ says the actress and model Mariel Hemingway, who is the author of Healthy Living from the Inside Out. ‘But when I was vegan, I was super-weak. I love animals, and we should not support anything but ethical ranching, but when I eat meat, I feel more grounded. I have more energy.

Even chef Mollie Katzen, author of the vegetarian bible the Moosewood Cookbook, is experimenting with meat again. ‘For about 30 years I didn't eat meat at all, just a bite of fish every once in a while, and always some dairy,’ she says. ‘Lately, I've been eating a little meat. People say, 'Ha, ha, Mollie Katzen is eating steak.' But now that cleaner, naturally fed meat is available, it's a great option for anyone who's looking to complete his diet. Somehow, it got ascribed to me that I don't want people to eat meat. I've just wanted to supply possibilities that were low on the food chain.’ Recently, when responding to the invitation to her high-school reunion, Katzen had to make a choice between the vegetarian and the conventional meal. She checked the nonvegetarian box. ‘The people who requested the vegetarian meal got fettuccine Alfredo,’ she says. ‘It's a bowl full of flour and butterfat. I'd much rather have vegetables and grains and a few bites of chicken."

           

The paleo and gluten free movements may not be perfect, but they are bringing more awareness to grains, GMOs and meat. The local food movement, at least in the Kansas City area has increased the visibility of small time farmers that raise animals on pasture similar to Joel Salatin and his Polyface Farm. I can only hope that these trends will become strong and quietly create a diet revolution.