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11 Ways To Ride 2022 Vegan Trends With Winning Visuals

enzo — Thu, 10 Mar 2022 11:43:05 +0000

The year 2022 has begun and it’s shaping up to be an unpredictable and turbulent year to say the least. Changes are rapid, the health emergency is not over and the political situation is unstable. Now, as if two years of pandemic were not enough, Russia’s attack on Ukraine is bringing more disruption.
This year it would be particularly unreasonable to claim to predict what the future will bring. Next week’s world could be completely different from last week’s. However, we can analyze the data available to us today and speculate on developments.

How The War In Ukraine Is Impacting Global Food Supply

Among the war’s ripple effects, there is a turning point in global food pricing. Russia and Ukraine together makeup 29% of global wheat exports, 19% of global corn and 80% of exports of sunflower oil. This means that Russia’s attack on Ukraine threatens global food security.
Only time and events will reveal the severity of the consequences, for sure we are going to witness a number of repercussions. And since Russia and Belarus are primary exporters of fertilizers, the conflict poses a risk to food production in other countries too.
The United Nations’ World Food Program has expressed concern over the conflict that might considerably worsen the huger catastrophe humanity is already facing. War, climate change and the economic consequences of Covid 19 are the major causes of food insecurity. The current Ukraine conflict is expected to affect food prices around the world (differently according to the country) and be a game changer.
Since Europe is reliant on imports of corn and sunflower seed for livestock feed, it is quite possible that the price of meat will rise too. Will necessity remind us that it takes almost 100 times as much land to produce a gram of protein from beef or lamb, when compared to peas or tofu?
It is too early to make any predictions. We can, however, analyze other data at our disposal and check the 2022 vegan trends that, during the first two months, matter the most.

The Vegan Market Figures You Need To Know

Plant-based food market is doing phenomenally well. No wonder it attracts the interest of big banks. UBS Investment Bank forecasts the global plant-based meat market to reach USD 51 billion by 2025 and a report from Credit Suisse points to the vegan sector as an excellent investment opportunity. The market for alternatives to meat and dairy products is expected to grow from the current $14 billion reaching $1.4 trillion by 2050.

Research suggests that plant-based products will also witness a surge of manufacturers investments willing to respond to an increase in consumer demand. In fact, 56% of food and drink brand owners and manufacturers interviewed in a new research commissioned by Atura Proteins are most likely to invest their new product development budgets in the development of plant-based products in 2022.
“The veggie boom is in full swing!”, Pro Veg International triumphantly announces on an Instagram post. According with their new Smart Protein Survey, a remarkable 46% of Europeans have already reduced their meat consumption dramatically and nearly 40% of people following an omnivore and flexitarian diet intend to consume less meat in the near future. Three-quarters of flexitarians already eat less meat compared to a year ago.

Veganuary, the global organization encouraging people to try vegan in January and beyond, has this year welcomed more than 629,000 people from 228 countries. And more than a third of people in the UK are now interested in becoming vegan.

Bright future ahead for the plant-based food industry, the trend keeps rising. Reducing meat consumption is unstoppably going mainstream with big players and established brands riding the tide.
Philadelphia’s first plant based variant has just been launched, Pret A Manger has now three permanent Veggie Pret stores in London and the controversial Nestlé vegan KitKat is a reality, just to name a couple of examples.

Based on Bloomberg Intelligence Research analysis, the global plant-based alternatives market could reach $162 billion in the next decade. An ‘explosive growth’ making up 7.7% of the global protein market by 2030.

The booming popularity of plant-based eating couldn’t go unnoticed by the World Health Organization that recently published a review entitled ‘Plant-based diets and their impact on health, sustainability and the environment’
They report interesting data, for instance: “it has been estimated that in 2020 there were 2.4 million deaths worldwide, and approximately €240 million in health-care costs, attributable to excessive red and processed meat consumption”
The research concludes that “considerable evidence supports shifting populations towards healthful plant- based diets that reduce or eliminate intake of animal products and maximize favourable “One Health” impacts on human, animal and environmental health.”

The data are encouraging, but wait: 2022 is going to be another bumpy year. How can we navigate through it and ride its unpredictable waves?
Here 11 vegan trends to watch in 2022 and the visuals needed for successful visual communication:

# 1 The New Normal: Adaptability Is Key

“It is time to face the world’s predictable unpredictability”, states The Economist.
Indeed. Present times can very destabilizing and tumble our habits, careers, relations, finances and more.
Change is rapid and turbulent, many different factors have the potential to cause confusion and instability. The present is unclear, the future uncertain.
How can a brand deal with these complex times?
While you need to be ready to alter your plans with agility (maybe with innovative products, new distribution…), it’s important to stay true to your values and vision.
Why? Because for the public it’s easier to grieve the old normal and embrace change with the help of trustable experiences, products and… brands.

Visuals

People desire to avoid excessive stress. Win your customers’ attention offering something comforting, warm, relaxing, cheerful:

Intimate atmospheres, cozy moods, reassuring tones.
Images that show traditional elements, like a table set in a familiar way
Traditional dishes (even if they are prepared with new ingredients as in trend #9)
Pictures that suggest connection and quality time.

There is also a desire for escape and images that evoke stylish atmospheres and small self-gratifications can be appreciated (but not always appropriate).

# 2 Age Of Accelerations

Remember 2021 big hypes? Some of them are so last year now and not so relevant after all. Others are increasingly becoming part of our reality, for instance: Metaverse, NFTs, Social Media shopping, AI implementations.
All very exciting and… stressing! Not only technology is developing at a rate faster than we can possibly keep up with, but our very way of doing things need to keep changing. And then there is global warming, social justice, unemployment, supply chain issues, privacy concerns, inflation…
We need to constantly adapt to new scenarios and rules of conduct, we need to keep learning how to use new technology.
All this unsettlement is not without consequences. Since the pandemic started, mental health issues skyrocket. We are craving for stability and things to rely on.

Visuals

As for trend #1, it’s important to propose innovations in a reassuring way. Your new product will benefit from pictures that contain elements familiar to your audience. In other words, try to associate #innovation with something #familiar.

#3 Flexitarians Are The Game Changer

We already knew that almost 90% of the people eating non-meat burgers are not vegetarian or vegan.
Flexitarians (those who go mainly meatless, but occasional eat meat or diary) are still driving the plant-based boom and now desire to diversify their diets with more vegan options, possibly healthier than the over-processed burgers that helped to move away from meat.
Many of them have only switched to their new dietary lifestyle in the last two years. They are curious, open to change, and, as such, need guidance and information about vegan foods.

Visuals

Flexitarians will appreciate your help in navigating their new orientation, but be careful: they are now getting more demanding and the offer has increased. In order to catch their attention, you better use visuals that are very appealing, eye-catching and useful. They want to be inspired with unique and mouth-watering images for their plant-based meals.

#4 Climatarianism: What Actually Is A Climatarian?

Flexitarians are not all the same. For many of them it’s all about health, some want to experience new flavors, others try to keep their personal impact on animal suffering in check. Consumers that are looking to reduce their carbon foot prints and therefore consume less meat are called Climatarians. With the increasingly frequent occurrence of devastating natural phenomena, more and more people are willing to consume less animal products in order to save the planet.

Visuals

Since Climatarians are mainly motivated by ecological reasons, address them with colors that evoke nature. You might also want to underline the eco-friendliness of your products using props like a wooden table, hand-made earthenware dishes and so on. Please don’t try to make your products look sustainable if they aren’t. That’s greenwashing.

#5 The Rise Of Reducetarians

In the Whole Foods Market’s latest Trends Council Report, Reductionism has been identified as a trend to watch for 2022 and Waitrose, in its 20221/2022 Food & Drink Report, points out that many consumers are looking to reduce the number of days in which they eat meat during the week: veggie for five days and omnivorous for the two remaining days.
But what is the difference between Flexitarian and Reducetarian? While flexitarians are primarily plant-based oriented and occasionally include animal products, reducetarians gradually reduce their consumption of these animal products with respect to their own diet.
In other words, reducetarians tend to like meat, otherwise they’d go vegan. They limit animal products in their diet because they know it’s good for their health, the animals and the planet.

Visuals

Reducetarians seem to be the ones that appreciate the most products that look and taste like animal products.
Show them images that remind them typical meat-eaters dishes and you’ll make them curious. The picture of a rare steak of lab grown meat that would certainly not appeal a vegan, might look appetizing to a reducetarian.

#6 Transparency, Please! We Are Gen Z

In 2019 Millennials (born 1981-1996) were the top consumers of plant-based meat alternatives. Because of the hype of so many new products, they were inclined to turn a blind eye to the over-processed foods and if they were sustainable or not. Now, Generation Z (born 1997-2012) is starting to come into adulthood, they are 32% of the global population.
Their orientation toward sustainability, social justice and ethics is strong and food is their top spending priority (nutritional values are, of course, important to them).
69% of Gen Zers globally say they’d be willing to pay more for a brand or product if they knew it was supporting an issue they care about.
82% of them consider social responsibility very important and ponder the ethical standards of those who produce what they eat. In fact, they can be skeptical of brands if their actions are not showing that they are operating in society’s best interest.
Nearly 9 in 10 Gen Zers believe that it’s important that they do something to fight climate change. If your products are helping them to do so, you will benefit from their purchasing power.
Caring about the impact of one’s choices is not limited to Gen Z. According with McKinsey research, 3 in 5 consumers say that sustainability is of concern in their purchases. “Not clear if people put that principle into action when they purchase, but the attitude is genuine.”

Visuals

Are your manufacturing facilities sustainable? Are your ingredients locally sourced? Do you use organic ingredients? Are you supporting any good cause? Show it in pictures, they want to know!

#7 Teach Me

Since the plant-based sector is growing so rapidly, the ones that turned their attention just recently to vegan food would appreciate some help (remember our 2021 #1 trend?).
About 50% of them feel they need more information about plant-based food products. They want to know about nutritional values, recipes, ways to cook certain ingredients and more. They look for these information on search engines, they visit health and nutrition-society websites looking for food options that are healthier and more ethical.
According with the survey published by ProVeg International as part of the Smart Protein Project, 43% are likely or very likely to look for such information visiting food-company websites. Help them vary and spice up their menus with your suggestions.

Visuals

Practical tips that help them navigate their new food orientation will be greatly appreciated. Share visually appealing recipes, guidelines, suggestions and meal plans. Inspire them showing them what they could experience choosing your products.

#8 Desire For Connection

Already in 2018, a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation pointed out that more than two in ten reported loneliness or social isolation in the U.K. and the U.S., double the share in Japan. The pandemic has intensified our isolation and made us more vulnerable to sadness: it’s a loneliness epidemic.The 2020 Cigna Loneliness Research Report notes that 61% of those surveyed felt lonely.
Now, compared to last year we have a better chance of meeting, but always with caution. After months on end when we couldn’t see anyone, we’re valuing those who truly matter to us – and cherishing the time we spend with them.
52% of people surveyed for the Waitrose 2021-2022 Food & Drink Report say that the past 19 months have made them more appreciative of friends and family. A third of those surveyed said they’re having smaller gatherings than before. People tend to feel that life is too short therefore quality is preferred over quantity.
We are now the most connected and probably the loneliest we have ever been. We desire to connect more and social networks pay a big role in that. Three quarters of 18-24 years old looked at TikTok and Instagram for food inspiration during lockdown. What is the viral potential of your vegan brand pics?

Visuals

Barbecues, picnics and everything outdoors are trending now because are safer. When presenting your products, show a homely, friendly, welcoming atmosphere. Show the comfort of a shared meal. Food is strongly connected to conviviality and our sense of community (remember our 2021 trend #4?)
Sometimes a warm light is enough to suggest the relaxed and pleasant atmosphere of a private dining.
Don’t forget the importance of social media, the magic hashtag is #HOMECHEF (4.3 billion views on TikTok)

#9 Fancy Breakfast

Despite the health emergency is slowly decreasing, we shouldn’t expect a return to 2019 behaviors. Work-from-home, for instance, is here to stay.
That means we can be more flexible with our time and also indulge in rewarding self-gratification. Breakfast has become a greater focal point in our lives and, as Speciality Food Magazine points out, “with fewer commutes to work, families have more time together at the breakfast table. It’s the mealtime equivalent of a family group hug before the day begins.”
A renewed interest for breakfast was already emerging before the pandemic. It was an informal and pleasant way to meet early in the morning in bars and discuss work projects in front of a slice of cake.
Now it’s different, we are talking of intimate and gratifying breakfasts while cocooning in our homes. Remember the “hyper-nesting” described by Faith Popcorn in 1981? Yes, the past two years made us re-discover the comfort of staying in our cocoons.
People aged 18-34 are the group most likely to stay in more, in a sign that the Homebody Economy isn’t confined to the older generations. According with the Waitrose 2021-2022 Food & Drink Report 41% of us enjoy spending time at home more than they used to and 53% of us agree food is more important to them than it was pre-pandemic.
And this is how the various age groups agree with the statement: “Although lockdown is over, I plan to go out less”

58% of 18- 34-year-olds agree
49% of 35- 44-year-olds agree
46% of 45- 54-year-olds agree
45% of over-55s agree

Visuals

Show that tempting, delicious breakfast! Your customers want to start their days with something uplifting: a slice of cake, herbal teas, smoothies, chocolate cookies, fruit, puddings, muffins… a rich breakfast must look gluttonous and mouth-watering. Since Gen Zers and Millennials are numerical important, remember what they like!

#10 Give Me More Diversity

With Covid19 limiting international travel, the desire to explore exotic recipes at home is increasing. According with the New York Times, in 2022, regional foods from India will get a lot of attention, with deep dives into dishes from Gujarat, Kerala, Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and the Awadh area.
Not only that, Michelin-starred chefs started offering vegan menus in their posh restaurants around the world and plant-based meal kits are gaining attention with delivery services like AllPlants and its chef-made vegan meals ready to heat and eat in minutes.
Ghost kitchens and virtual restaurants are on the rise too, they offer a variety of vegan options. Keep an eye on VDC Culinary and their innovative franchising, they provide restaurants everything needed to build multiple concepts out of one kitchen and create a more profitable delivery business. Celebrities menus are one of the available options. In other words, a restaurant can focus on executing food orders while the app brings new orders in. The very same kitchen can prepare food the TikTok Kitchen or other virtual restaurants. They do not have a vegan virtual restaurant yet (here waiting for 100% Vegan competitors!)
New ingredients and new tastes are making their way into supermarkets too. Over the past year there has been a +59% increase in new plant-based products.
One interesting ingredient is mycoprotein, a sustainable protein source made from a natural fungus called Fusarium Venenatum, that can replicate meat in texture and taste.

Visuals

Show more variety to win consumers! Put in your pictures the ethnic cuisine and the related ambience you know your customers desire. Present your novelties with inspiring recipe pictures making sure to remember trend #2 and including reassuring and familiar elements in the image.

#11 Familiar Food

In this chaotic world we crave for stability (see trend #1) and look for what helps us feel safer. That’s why during the pandemic consumers felt the desire for nostalgic food products and childhood favorites regained popularity.
As we know (see trend #3), Flexitarians are driving the plant-based boom and tend to favor ingredients they are fairly familiar with (read: non-vegan foods too).
That’s why, according with the Good Food Institute, instead of asking consumers to give up the foods they love, “we can create meat, eggs, and dairy more sustainably and efficiently by making them from plants, cultivating them directly from cells, or producing them by fermentation.”
Plant-based beef, poultry, tuna, salmon, mozzarella or sliced cheese are in demand. They are “transition foods”, designed to meet a very large target audience.
In 2020 we witnessed a turning point with the rise of vegan burgers. In 2021, plant-based chicken boomed and vegan fish started becoming popular (also helped by the seafood industry documentary Seaspriracy).
For instance, Good Catch Foods nostalgic fish sticks won the title of Peta 2021 company of the year.
In 2022 we’ll see more plant-based fish, like Aqua mushroom-based seafood and many other vegan brands that mimic sea food.
(btw, Proveg is giving away a free plant-based seafood ebook full of easy to prepare recipes)

Visuals

As already described in trend #5, pictures conceived to target flexitarians will also benefit from meat-eaters aesthetics (what, this is not meat?). Don’t forget that many vegans have absolutely no inclination to seek food that looks, smells and tastes like meat, but still want familiar food. In a picture, the use of traditional elements (like traditional dishes as indicated in trend #1) will result appealing to both targets.

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2021 Vegan Trends: turbocharge your business using effective visual content

enzo — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 22:32:24 +0000

The vegan market is doing incredibly well and plant-based options appeal to an increasingly broad audience. Let’s take a closer look at 2021 vegan trends…

What are the vegan trends of 2021 and how to translate them into successful visual communication?

The year 2020 witnessed increasingly high demand for meatless and dairy-free products, the vegan population grew, and the plant-based food market expanded.
Even before the onset of the pandemic, vegan eating was on the rise. The health emergency then boosted the demand for vegan food even further.
Conditions like high blood pressure, obesity or diabetes — which can often be a ticket to the ICU — are pretty rare in vegans. People want to be healthier and lower their risk of suffering from serious Covid-19 complications, therefore the vegan option has become more attractive even among those who hadn’t considering it earlier.

Aside from health-related motivations, for many it’s obviously an ethical choice. Concern for the environment has also played an important role. Sir David Attenborough recently urged: “We must change our diet. The planet can’t support billions of meat-eaters”.
A study carried out in 26 countries by FMCG Gurus and reported by Vegconomist confirms that vegan options are engaging a broader and broader audience.
And that’s not all: the Verified Market Research report predicts even more rapid and substantial growth over the next 6 years.
And over the next six years, even more rapid and substantial growth is expected, predicts the Verified Market Research report.

What are the main 2021 vegan trends and how can vegan brands ride them with their visual communication?

#1 The New Vegans

The New York Times predicts that plant-based eating, online grocery shopping and ghost kitchens are trends that will grow even bigger. Since the pandemic started, plenty of flexitarians and non-vegans have turned their attention to plant-based food and more are expected to follow. This audience might need a different approach as compared to seasoned vegans.
You already know that you can create deep connections with your customers and foster their loyalty by responding to their latent needs. Is your brand thinking about new vegans?
You might even want to meet them right where their pain points are. That’s what Busch Light did with the general public: they offered a year of free beer to couples who had to delay their weddings because of Coronavirus. Besides making the news, they showed the human side of their business and delivered an optimistic uplift.

Visuals

New plant-based enthusiasts will appreciate tips that help them navigate their new diet.
Anything visual (printed or online) that makes them feel less alone (see trend #4) will catch their attention.
Brands that will be at their side while they cook, shop for groceries online, or order vegan food delivery will most likely win their hearts. Visually appealing recipes, guidelines, suggestions, and meal plans will also be greatly appreciated

#2 Get comfortable with uncertainty and remember: eating healthy is more crucial than ever

One thing we know about 2021: it’s particularly unpredictable. We are not sure if the virus threat is going to fade anytime soon. On top of that, the WHO informs us that the Covid-19 pandemic is “not necessarily the big one”.
What kind of future lies in store for us?
We know that things will keep shifting and we will need to keep adapting to new scenarios. Whatever changes are on the horizon, health doesn’t seem to be taken for granted — we’re all going to be a lot better off with healthy bodies! One thing is pretty clear in these uncertain times: the vegan diet is on the rise and plant-based products will keep increasing in popularity. Indeed, Innova Market Insights (global knowledge leader in the food and beverage industry) puts the plant-based trend second on their Top Ten Trends list for 2021.

Visuals

If you want the health-conscious folks to be among your customers, make it clear that you are offering really healthy products (it has to be true, of course). Pretty much anything vegan is on the rise especially because it’s good for our bodies. Show it! Use images and colors that bring this out.

#3 A burst of creativity: be ready to adapt and innovate.

Necessity is the mother of invention. The massive disruption brought by the health emergency has translated (also) into amazing innovation and creativity. We have heard about individuals reinventing themselves with bold moves, like an actor turning his passion for baking bread into a full-time profession. We read about restaurants finding new ways to reach their customers and turning into ghost kitchens to embrace the take-out and delivery options. We have also heard about the incredible popularity of food kits discovered by home cooks during the pandemic and now purchased on a regular basis.
The health crisis has proven to be an opportunity to find new ways to market products and develop better communication with customers. The year 2021 is expected to be uncertain and complex, creativity and innovation will keep having a fundamental role for everyone, including vegan brands.
A great example is the Milanese vegan pastry shop Forno Vegano. They initially only delivered to restaurants, company cafeterias or event organizers. But the lockdown has prevented these establishments from ordering their delicious vegan cakes. And so they have started offering free delivery to private customers too. In the last months, to the great joy of Milanese gluttons, they also added several tempting specialties. Now it’s possible to order a wider selection of mouth-watering vegan cakes, cookies, savory options and custom-made pastries for special occasions. Free delivery, impeccable service.

Visuals

Show the world what makes your products and services unique with eye catching, mouth-watering images. Simple, attractive, straight to the point. Make sure they remember the innovations you introduce

#4 Food as comfort, the missing conviviality

During 2020 we discovered that, no matter what, food is a great comfort. We have been stressed, fearful, worried… we have had to face unimaginable situations and deal with novel, sometimes almost bizarre problems. But through it all, those exquisite eats surely supported us! We indulged in treats, tried out new foods, attempted to emulate our favorite restaurant recipes, figured out the healthiest and most delicious options… Famous chefs agree that people will keep looking for comfort in food in 2021.
But food is actually much more than a treat. For us humans, eating is strongly connected to our sense of community. When we prepare and share meals we also connect, exchange experiences, show hospitality… Lockdowns have deprived us of the pleasure of conviviality and we are no longer able to share our stories and laugh over a plate of spaghetti with friends.
Anything connected with food that could make us feel less isolated has a good chance of being welcomed. Vegan chefs’ online master-classes, for instance, could make viewers feel part of a community and provide a much-needed sense of togetherness.

Visuals

Is your brand providing connecting experiences? Are you upgrading your plant-based products with food-education extras? Are you presenting what you sell as comforting treats that add extra well-being and cuddle into your customers’ life? Don’t show only food, show an atmosphere, a mood, an emotion. Show comfort and pleasure.

#5 From The Industrial Era To The Digital Age: an excellent online presence is now a must, but…

The pandemic has impacted the lives, habits and behaviors of billions of people and accelerated our transition from the industrial to the digital era. E-commerce and online transactions have experienced an explosive growth to unprecedented levels. Online entertainment, video-conferencing, telemedicine, and food delivery have skyrocketed. These habits are now established and brands that do not develop and improve their digital identity may find themselves struggling to satisfy customers’ needs and wants. Many vegan brands are pretty new on the market and ready to optimize their online presence with impeccable customer service, live streaming, video chat, social shopping and more.
But when it comes to innovation, it’s the fashion sector that seems to lead in finding new ways to pamper the customer. For example, in a Vogue Business article we read: “Retailers can also hyper-personalise service using a deepfaked assistant to help with online enquiries who is a customer’s exact demographic and speaks their language. Rather than talk to a faceless bot, shoppers could talk to a “real” face, which could enhance trust”. See what’s unfolding? Will the food sector follow?
The risk in high digitalization is the loss of sensory involvement of potential customers. That’s why it would be a good idea to pursue off-line experiences like Covid-safe samplings.

Visuals

Use pictures and texts that do not simply describe your products but also suggest the sensory involvement connected with the rituals of eating. Spices, aromas textures…

#6 Cities Are Reshaping, distribution must follow

Remote working has quickly become a common practice, just like remote learning. The hordes of commuters and students that used to crowd into trains and public transportation now stay home supported by technology. They no longer all have lunch at the same time in bars or with office delivery.
Stores, cafés and restaurants that developed along major transportation arteries and around destination locations are experiencing a lack of customers and closing down or reinventing themselves.
Cities are reshaping, there is a profound redistribution of population and it’s not something temporary. Even if the virus disappeared tomorrow, remote working would stay because it has proven to bring lots of benefits.
Towns are now worth a visit for much needed personal and professional physical connections and experiences, but the previous routine is very unlikely to fully return.
Among the consequences of this new normal is the need to find a wide variety of foods even in the suburbs or in small towns and villages whose stores normally do not offer it.

Visuals

You already know that there is an increased demand for home delivery of meals and a growing habit of online grocery shopping. Now you also know that it will be increasingly important to reach customers outside of big cities. Make it visible in all your communication.

#7 Cooking

During the first lockdown, Italy experienced a huge shortage of flour and yeast. Apparently, people started baking like never before. Italy, of course, is not the only country where the population adjusted to the new situation by cooking more than usual. Americans also kept themselves busy at the stove in order to cope with home confinement. All over the world people have seemed to rediscover the pleasure of cooking.
The pandemic has pushed us all to learn new ways to live our lives and, although we thought those changes would have been temporary, many of them are here to stay.
It is very likely that people will carry on with their new culinary habits even after the pandemic emergency is over, simply because they have discovered the joy of cooking. It’s creative, healthier and rewarding.

Visuals

Share with your customers basic evergreen vegan recipes or unusual and tempting ideas, meet their new needs and diversify consumption occasions. Quick culinary preparations are likely to be preferred. As we gradually leave the emergency behind, creativity in the kitchen is losing its function of killing time.

#8 Digital Cocooning: pamper your customers

Despite their overall sales falling rather sharply during the lockdown, Victoria’s Secret recorded higher sales in loungewear and sleepwear because more and more people are “nesting” at home.
Social distancing and lockdown obviously restrict our opportunities to socialize in person. We are all living much more in our houses and communicating with the world through technology. What many consumers ask of brands now are products and services that support them in enjoying the coziness of their homes.
Cocooning is the term coined in 1981 by trend forecaster Faith Popcorn and now it couldn’t be more apropos. At the time, she defined it as “the impulse to go inside when it just gets too tough and scary outside. Cocooning is about insulation and avoidance, peace and protection, coziness and control — a sort of hyper-nesting.”
If this translated in 1981 into staying home and trying out Martha Stewart recipes, the modern cocooners organize their professional and private lives online and demand fast and competent service.
Vegan brands that want to reach out to their potential and current cocooner customers, need to optimize the online experience. That means fast, entertaining and fun websites with impeccable customer service. It also means offering really cool and memorable online content suitable for being enjoyed in one’s personal cocoon. Introducing social shopping wouldn’t hurt. Also, a remarkable social-media presence could help, including Tik Tok with its popular vegan influencers. Don’t forget the real-time, audio-based new social-media on the rise: Clubhouse. It’s still in Beta and by invitation only, but the vegan presence is already pretty high and the funders anticipate that the media will develop the possibility to sell directly on that platform.

Visuals

Pleasant, entertaining images for your entire online and offline presence will distinguish your brand among your competitors. Brands that find ways to cuddle cocooners while keeping them away from digital screens will definitely be winners: digital fatigue is affecting many. Printed material?

#9 Less processed Vegan Fast Food and ready meals

In 2020 we saw the fast food industry offering meatless menu options and working hard to win over vegan customers. In 2021 we will probably see more non-vegan brands doing this, following the lead of McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut and KFC. Meanwhile, many customers have moved beyond the hype and excitement of novelty and want more quality. Finding cruelty-free options on the menu is great, but not enough. Many people want to eat less-processed and less-refined food. Something similar is happening in two growing trends among the general public: Brain Food (ingredients that enhance your mental focus and clarity) and Sleepy Time Eats (natural ingredients that promote a good night’s sleep). Also adaptogens (substances that seem to have anti-fatigue and antidepressant proprieties) have made their way into our food habits and will probably stay for a while.
Not only does the market demand very healthy food (remember trend #2) but also fine delicatessen food that helps us cope with uncertainty and stress. In this scenario, there is little room for hyper-processed products — at least not for the health-conscious consumer.
There has been quite a debate and even polemics on highly-realistic and highly-refined meat alternatives.
On the one hand, products that look and taste like meat do appeal to meat eaters and save lives, on the other, vegan hyper-processed food doesn’t make much sense.

Visuals

Less processed options seem to be the way to go in 2021. Make it clear in your communication, show the ingredients too.
In order to keep tempting meat eaters, you could use visual language that appeals to a burger-oriented mindset.

#10 More vegan options and meatless meat in restaurants, delivery, supermarkets and catering: can you cope with it?

Good news for chocolate lovers: vegan chocolate is expected to rule in 2021. But there is more. During the last years, we have seen major supermarkets expand their vegan sections with new products. This is apparently going to continue. The British supermarket giant Tesco, for instance, is recording impressive growth in plant-based foods sales. No wonder they keep expanding their vegan product range: vegan milks, a wide variety of plant-based cheeses, more meatless steaks and sausages. They also announced their goal of boosting sales of meat alternatives by 300% over the next five years.
Vegan seafood is expected to be quite popular. Peta UK published a list of 14 fishless fishes and more are on the way. Also plant-based chicken is on the rise and pork is about the become more widely available.
Although many vegans have absolutely no inclination to seek food that looks, smells and tastes like meat, faking the flesh of a dead animal seems to be the way to conquer a huge portion of the public.
Same thing about increasingly available chickenless eggs (vegans always put the chicken first!).
Vegan food sales are soaring in the catering sector too and online and mobile food-ordering is registering the same. Grubhub, for instance, after analyzing orders from over 30 million diners, announced that the popularity of meat alternatives soared by 463% in 2020. Among the most in-demand vegan orders: tofu spring rolls, plant-based burger, black bean tacos, vegan chocolate cake.
Now, with an increased demand for and supply of vegan products, potential customers are becoming more selective. Things like a more sustainable packaging, an ethical approach, attention to food waste… are already making a difference for the ethical consumers. The same can be said about the deliciousness of eats for vegan foodies or less processed and refined food for health-conscious consumers.

Visuals

In this expanding and competitive market, the way products are presented is really important. This is where visual marketing plays a big role. Make sure your visual communication is mouth-watering and arouses a desire to taste that dish. Remember: a good picture makes you sell more.

#11 End of the health emergency, desire for conviviality

The most wanted among 2021 vegan trends! This is a trend that everyone would like to see exploding as soon as possible, but no one knows how long it’s going to take and if it’s even going to happen during 2021 (Dr. Fauci expects masks will still be needed in 2022). In any case, when the emergency finally is over, people will want to burst into celebration and enjoy the company of other human beings. Well, it also depends on the political situation… Anyway, coming out of the cocooning there will be Coronavirus PTSD cases and the adjustments might take a while. Nevertheless, once again food will be a powerful way to socialize, share important moments and heal from isolation. Brands that have established a good connection with their customers during the hard times will most likely keep being an important presence in people’s lives in times of joy and celebration.

Visuals

Even if it seems that it’s not going to happen anytime soon, keep something on the back burner. Maybe just a few ideas of images and copy. You now have time to plan (maybe just fantasize) the impact you want to give once the right time comes.

That’s it, for the moment, about 2021 vegan trends and how to translate them into successful visual communication. How did you like this article? Feel free to share it on social media and also read what Vegan Clicks has to offers and why it exists.

L'articolo 2021 Vegan Trends: turbocharge your business using effective visual content proviene da Vegan Clicks.