How to market your plant-based products

Posted by Anya Sleezer << back to blog

Last Updated on October 10, 2023

Getting an edge over the competition is important in any market or industry. This is especially true in the vegan, plant-based marketing, where new brands are popping up and growing like, well, plants.

But you may say to yourself: “My product(s) are already high-quality. Isn’t that enough to stand out from the crowd?”

Unfortunately, no. In today’s hyper-competitive business environment, there are several reasons why marketing is essential:

Knowing your target market

Understanding the needs and desires of your potential customers is crucial, as they are the ones most likely to use your product. Conducting market research also allows you to create new products to drive more sales from your customers. This data is invaluable as you develop strategies to attract more customers and differentiate yourself in a crowded marketplace.

Encouraging innovation

Companies that stand out are often innovative. No, you don’t have to be “techy” or “ground-breaking” to be innovative. You simply have to create a unique value proposition that appeals to customers, and/or optimize your production processes to reduce costs and increase profitability.

Building brand recognition

Building brand recognition helps differentiate your brand from competitors, establishes your brand identity, and communicates your unique value to customers. Veganism is a lifestyle choice that extends beyond food choices. Building brand recognition helps create a community of like-minded individuals who are advocates for veganism – and your brand.

Establishing credibility through effective brand messaging

Customers are more likely to buy from brands they trust. Establishing credibility and authenticity helps you create positive word-of-mouth and increased customer loyalty for your brand.

So now that you know why marketing is important in helping your vegan, plant-based brand stand out, the next question is: How?

Distinguishing yourself from others is a challenge, especially with so much similarity and parity in the space (which is why we always focus on finding your #RallyPoint first). But with creativity and determination, it’s possible to set your brand apart and draw in more customers.

Here’s how to use the principles of product marketing to stand out from the crowd.

What is Product Marketing?

Let’s start here: What is product marketing? Consumer product marketing involves promoting and selling a product to potential customers. That’s it in a nutshell, but naturally, there’s a lot more to it. Consumer product marketing is a strategic approach to bringing a product to market, positioning it based on the customer’s needs, and branding it to create awareness, drive demand, and generate revenue.

What does Product Marketing actually do?

Product marketing is responsible for defining and communicating the value of a product or service to its target customers and the market as a whole. The process involves a range of activities, including: conducting market research, understanding customer needs and preferences, developing strategies to launch and promote the product, and creating marketing collateral. Collateral material includes sales decks and product videos to ensure successful product adoption and revenue growth.

Why is Product Marketing essential?

There are so many reasons that product marketing is essential for your plant-based brand (or any brand):

Communicating the value of the product
Product marketing helps to communicate the value of the product, its benefits, and features to persuade potential customers to buy it.

Understanding the target audience
Product marketing helps you understand the target audience’s needs, preferences, and pain points. You can leverage this data to tailor your product’s messaging, positioning, and features to the target audience.
Launching new products
Product marketing plays a crucial role in launching new products by developing go-to-market strategies, creating launch plans, and coordinating the product launch across all departments.
Supporting the sales team
Product marketing provides sales enablement materials, including sales presentations, competitive analyses, and product collateral. These tools help the sales team to effectively communicate the product’s value to potential customers.
Driving revenue
Product marketing helps generate demand and increase sales by effectively positioning and promoting the product.

Why is Product Marketing important to the vegan, plant-based market?

Vegan product marketing is a niche market and requires hyper-targeting to reach its appropriate audience. The principles of product marketing help educate your customers about the benefits and features of your plant-based products. Given the vegan, plant-based lifestyle is relatively new and growing, product-marketing principles can also help educate customers about its health and environmental benefits. Branding (a critical component of product marketing) highlights your vegan product’s unique features and benefits, differentiating you from your vegan competition and your non-vegan counterparts.

How do you launch your product?

Now that you understand the value of product marketing, here’s an outline for launching vegan, plant-based product:

Pre-Launch

Conduct market research to determine your target audience and their needs
Identify your unique selling proposition (USP)
Set specific goals and objectives for the launch
Develop effective product messaging
Create a marketing plan along with a budget
Plan a pre-launch campaign to create buzz and generate interest

Launch

Schedule the launch date and prepare all marketing materials
Set up a launch event or webinar to introduce the product
Reach out to your network of influencers and partners to promote the launch
Monitor the launch and make necessary adjustments

Post-Launch

Evaluate the launch results against your goals and objectives
Analyse customer feedback and adjust the product or messaging as necessary
Continue to engage with influencers and partners to maintain momentum
Develop ongoing marketing campaigns and content to keep the product top of mind of your audience

The success of your product depends on the product launch.

But to stay relevant (and profitable) it’s essential you keep your product and brand fresh in your existing customer’s minds.

How do you continue reaching and engaging your existing customers?

Oftentimes the best business strategy isn’t gaining new customers, but generating more sales from your existing customers. Start by targeting the customers who have previously engaged with your marketing, then use various retargeting metrics:

Location
The location of your audience plays a significant role in determining whether or not the customer will continue purchasing your product.
Engagement metrics
The longer someone engages with your product, the more likely they are to continue purchasing it, and other products you offer.
Up-sell and cross-sell campaigns
Offering relevant products can increase revenue from a single sale and create deeper connection with your audience. These can include:

Up-sell offers: Encouraging a customer who previously bought an 8 oz. face wash to buy a 16 oz. bottle.
Cross-sell offers: Encouraging a customer who purchased a shampoo to also purchase conditioner.

Special offers
Stay top of mind by running special offers during holidays and other occasions, like Christmas or Valentine’s Day.
Multi-channel retargeting campaigns
Don’t just stay on one media platform. Remind people of your products by running retargeting ads across multiple platforms, whether it’s video content on YouTube or social ads on Facebook. Just make sure that you target audience is on that platform before you buy.

Your product is great, but it’s important to use the principles of product marketing to make sure people know about it!

After all, marketing in the vegan, plant-based product landscape won’t get any easier – which means you have to be better. Good thing we’re here to help!

Level up your vegan, plant-based brand with Levo!

Anya Sleezer

Anya Sleezer is the owner of Levo, a full–service marketing agency, focused on helping companies from all industries who are concerned with their marketing results, traffic, branding, advertising, or websites.

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