Eight vegan marketing trends to capitalise on in 2024

Before January completely flies by, we thought we’d take a moment to look at the big vegan marketing trends predicted for 2024 and explore how you might capitalise on them to develop your brand this year.

Here are our top eight predictions:

1. Capitalising on the “You are what you eat” message

Timed to coincide with Veganuary, Netflix encouraged people to begin 2024 with veganism on their minds when it launched a new documentary film, You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment, on Monday 1^st January.

The documentary covers a study by Stanford University about how a plant-based diet affects health. The study split 22 sets of twins so that one from the pair followed a vegetable-rich omnivorous diet for eight weeks and the other twin ate a vegetable-rich plant-based diet.

The study found that the twins who ate a plant-based diet experienced reduced visceral fat around their organs, lower LDL cholesterol leading to a reduced risk of heart disease, lower insulin levels, weight loss, and even a heightened sexual drive.

As you might expect, the documentary has attracted mainstream news coverage and appears to have inspired many people to reconsider how much animal flesh they consume. Now is the ideal time to reinforce the “You Are What You Eat” message.

Depending on your business, you may also want to highlight the stark realities of the animal agriculture industry, a topic also covered in the documentary.

2. Instagrammable packaging

When we think of vegan brands, especially the earlier brands in the sector, many have branding or packaging that is predominantly green and brown to make a strong visual connection with nature (Cauldron Foods and Linda McCartney’s both spring to mind here).

We’ve been seeing brighter, less obviously “vegan packaging” in the sector for a while (Oatly is often the go-to example), and packaging experts say that people will want to see “personality-driven packaging” from vegan brands in the year ahead.

Packaging that’s vibrant, striking, and offers a unique colour palette that will stand out in Instagram posts is a huge draw to consumers.

If you’re designing packaging or developing your brand in 2024 think about how you can stand out with your visual identity. One way businesses do this is to ask customers to film and tag themselves opening the packaging to reveal and use the product it contains.

3. It’s time to innovate

It’s not just how packaging looks that people will care about in 2024. People will also be looking at how packaging is made.

Do your products come in packaging that’s compostable? Does it use sustainable plant-based fibres, for example? Do you use highly recyclable materials such as glass or metal for your containers? If so, let your customers know by sharing the story of how you developed your packaging and why.

Thanks to the cost of living crisis, value is critical right now. If your packaging is reusable, make sure you flag this up and highlight the affordability.

If you haven’t focused on your packaging in the past, this might be the year to do it. You could even bring your audience on the journey with you – let them know the options you’re exploring, ask what they want, highlight the challenges, team up with other vegan businesses, and be excited about innovating.

4. Clear labelling is vital

While we’re on the subject of packaging, there will be a growing demand in 2024 for clearly labelled vegan products packaged in 100% vegan packaging.

Consumers are becoming more aware of ways that animal-derived products can go under the radar. Glues, dyes, inks, lacquers, and additives for packaging often include products such as bone glue or casein from mammalian milk.

If people are buying vegan, they want to know that they can trust every aspect of the product to be free of ingredients derived from other animals. Most consumers don’t have the time or inclination to check the supply chain of every item they buy. They want to know that you have done this for them.

Therefore, if you are confident about the integrity of your supply chain, let your customers know. Talk about it in your marketing, add information to your labels, and apply for certification that gives buyers peace of mind.

5. Champion simple wholefoods

Apparently, vegans eat more ultra-processed foods (UPFs) than found in any other diet. UPFs are typically higher in unsaturated fat, salt, sugar, additives, and preservatives than non-processed foods. People are also wary about genetically modified ingredients.

This raises a concern that veganism may not be particularly good for human health. Indeed, this is a criticism often levelled against businesses that promote plant-based eating.

A study from the University of Bath in 2022 concluded that plant-based animal product alternatives (sometimes dubbed “fake meats”) are still healthier and better for the environment than animal-derived products. But this hasn’t stopped a backlash.

Food trendspotters say it’s time to put the plant back into plant based. 2024 will be the year of whole foods, such as mushrooms, walnuts, tempeh, and legumes. People want vegan food to be simpler, closer to its natural form, nutritious, packed full of health benefits (e.g. regulating the immune system or boosting brain function), and transparently labelled for peace of mind.

If you create vegan products that fill this need, you might want to make this the focus of your marketing.

6. Plant-based seafood will perform swimmingly

As over-fishing and pollution push the oceans towards ecological collapse, people increasingly recognise that eating fish is unethical and unsustainable.

It’s in response to this that plant-based trendspotters highlight the growing demand for “vegan seafood”. Until now, the texture and flavour of flesh from fishes such as salmon and tuna has been hard to replicate, but advancing technologies are changing this.

If you offer plant-based products that either replace or emulate fish flesh, lobster, crab, shrimp, octopus, or prawns, as just a few examples, then it’s time to develop your brand in this direction. Equally, if you are involved with campaigns to help save the oceans and the lives within them, make sure this is a highly visible part of your story.

7. Focus on sustainability

While sustainability isn’t a new trend, consumers are paying more attention to where vegan products come from and how they fit into a circular economy. People want to know about water and land usage, workers’ rights, and how waste from the manufacturing process is used.

Buckwheat, for example, is going to be a “hero” crop in 2024 because of its sustainability credentials. It adds key nutrients to soil and can grow in poor conditions and more extreme climates. Every part of the Buckwheat seed is usable without the need for fertilisers or pesticides. It’s also a magnet to pollinators and a top choice for weed control.

If you offer products or services that are highly sustainable, now is the time to tell their story and highlight their benefits in your marketing.

8. Continue the Veganuary momentum

Each year, Veganuary attracts more participants from across the globe (you can read the 2023 Veganuary campaign report here). Many people who take part say that even if they don’t remain fully vegan, they significantly reduce their intake of animal flesh and secretions throughout the rest of the year.

In fact, a recent report in The Guardian suggests that 85% of people who take part in Veganuary reduce their consumption of animal-derived products as a result; 23% become vegan.

There’s still time to market your business to the Veganuary audience or even to people who are curious about Veganuary. You might also want to think about how you can continue to generate mainstream appeal for your vegan business well after January comes to an end.

Social media marketing is ideal for campaigns like Veganuary – remember to use the #Veganuary hashtag! You might also want to offer time-limited discounts or deals to attract new customers.

As we’ve mentioned above, think about how you can promote the simplicity and provenance of your products; explore their health benefits and sustainability, tell their story, innovate, and excite people with your mission.

2024 may be the most vegan year yet

News sources are saying that 2024 will be the most vegan year to date. People in the UK consumed less animal flesh last year than at any point since records began in the 1970s. Around 1.5% of the UK population is now vegan, 3% of Germany’s population, 2-5% in the US, and 9-10% of people living in India. These numbers are likely to increase.

While participation in Veganuary isn’t doubling year on year the way it did in its earliest years, it is now rooted in the international calendar and continues to inspire people to try plant-based living.

Documentaries such as You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment raise awareness of how problematic industrial agriculture is and how much suffering it causes, as well as the health benefits of veganism.

It will be interesting to see how the eight predicted trends we’ve highlighted play out over the next 12 months. We’d love to hear from you about how they relate to your vegan business and your plans for 2024.