This article is part of the Vegconomist X ProVeg International New Food Hub article series, which aims to make actionable insights into the plant-based space more readily accessible.
ProVeg International recently hosted a webinar on plant-based convenience foods, featuring a panel of industry experts, including Miguel Serrano, CEO of Vidyalto; Pascal Bieri, Co-Founder of Planted; and Nora Henning, Test and Lean Innovation Leader and Lean Startup Coach at Nestlé.
This webinar aims to give businesses a comprehensive understanding of how to integrate convenience into their product lines and marketing messaging to influence consumers’ purchasing decisions. It covers the meaning of convenience, how to communicate convenience to the consumer, how best to utilise market research to develop your convenience product, and the socio-cultural context of convenience.
According to Miguel, there are four key aspects of convenience that a product must communicate to the consumer:
- Range of methods
Make all the ways they can cook the product obvious to the consumer. Can you bake it or pan fry it? Should you steam it or microwave it? The information should be clear.
- Fast and easy to cook
Communicate how fast it takes to cook a product. For example “three minutes in the microwave” or “ten minutes in the pan”.
- Versatile usage
Show the consumer all the different ways that they can use your product, such as in sauce or a filling.
- Easy to serve
Increase product use by linking to key recipes that consumers can rotate throughout their weekly mealtimes, including staples such as spaghetti bolognese.
“People normally cook ten dishes and then repeat the same things,” Miguel said. “Give consumers ideas with your plant-based products.”
Plant-based products may be more unfamiliar to consumers compared to traditional meat and dairy products, so it is vital to communicate these aspects of familiarity and convenience when marketing your plant-based products. If you are interested in learning more about these four steps and how to implement them functionally within your products, make sure to check out the full webinar.
If you are committed to promoting the accessibility of plant-based products and boosting your company’s bottom line, you can find even more exciting content on ProVeg International’s New Food Hub.
