The business case for veganuary

Ethical, health and environmental benefits are the leading reasons that over a million people around the world have signed up for Veganuary; a campaign that encourages people to ‘try vegan’ for January. For companies there’s another big reason to jump on board: it’s good for business, says Donovan Will, director of Proveg South Africa.

Around the world, interest in plantbased and vegan diets are on the rise. Even in meat-loving South Africa we are seeing a significant increase in the demand for plant-based products - this was demonstrated well by Burger King's new vegan options that sold out across the country within weeks of their launch!

The leading drivers for this movement are animal ethics, and the health and environmental benefits. For food companies who are not inspired by these reasons, there are simpler reasons to jump on board. Market data from Europe and America shows that the plant-based sector is going to continue to grow at an accelerating rate, which means there are likely to be many untapped opportunities in this space, and that investing in at least some good plantbased offerings might be necessary to future-proof themselves.

In the restaurant and fast food restaurant space there is also the ‘veto vote.’ If a group of eight friends are deciding where to eat and one of them eats plant-based, it’s unlikely that they will choose a place with no plant-based options. So, any restaurant without these options loses out on all eight customers - not just the one plant-based eater.

With that background in place, let’s look at the specific reasons that companies can benefit specifically from joining the global Veganuary campaign. January has always been a time for new-year’s resolutions; eating healthier or more sustainably, or simply trying something new. It is also often a time when money is tight after all the holiday spending. Therefore, switching out the fillet steak for rice and lentils might seem more palatable.

The Veganuary campaign may have started with these forces in mind, but now that it is ‘a thing’, there are significantly more benefits to companies that are wanting to get more exposure to the plant-based market - regardless of what stage they are in. There can be some confidence that there will be heightened awareness of plantbased options over this time with most of South Africa’s leading retailers promoting Veganuary or at least their plant-based options, in some way in January 2021, and being expected to do the same this January.

ProVeg South Africa (ProVeg), the local partner for Veganuary, estimates that at least 15 000 South Africans will sign up for the official Veganuary campaign in 2021, and research from Kantar in the UK suggests that for every person who actually signs up for the challenge, ten times more people will take part informally. Even more Donovan Will, people will simply Director of Proveg South Africa try a few new plantbased options and so, the campaign reach will move well into the millions. With this level of interest and there being so many benefits of the move towards a more plant-based diet, there are expected to be significant media opportunities around the campaign too.

The cost to take advantage of this opportunity is also very low. Veganuary is a non-profit and the use of their campaign elements is completely free. ProVeg encourages companies in the plant-based space or those looking to enter the space to utilise this opportunity regardless of the stage they are in. For those companies that are considering a future entry, there is the opportunity to survey people who sign up for Veganuary, for those in the development stage this is a great opportunity for product tastings and for those who are ready to launch this is clearly a great time to market new products or add new menu items. This is also a good time for ‘accidentally’ vegan products (products that were not specifically designed to be vegan, but just are - like Oreos or peanut butter) to target the flexitarian market. •

Donovan Will, Director of Proveg South Africa