Across the food and beverage industry, we’ve seen a shift in culture toward healthy alternatives as guilty pleasures. From the Impossible Burger to vitamin-infused alcoholic seltzers, buyers have found ways to bring health into their everyday habits and pleasures in ways that have never been possible.
Lab-grown (or cultivated) meat is now greenlit, with the first brand signed off by the FDA soon to be trialled in restaurants. In the future, all of our food will be grown in a lab to combat climate change, accommodate the regeneration of farmland, and address unsustainable costs.
In a world where we’ll eventually be able to order from restaurant menus where every ingredient is lab-sourced, how can the food and hospitality industry help to shift attitudes beyond the early adopters?
Greg Gibson, CCO & Partner of Grizzly, a San-Diego based design agency, tells Grocery Trader the future of lab-grown food is here, but are people ready for it?
Significant strides in the cultivated food space last year include the first FDA approval of lab-grown meat products (produced by Upside Foods), construction of the world’s biggest cultured meat production site in the US by Israeli company Believer Meats, and the development of alternative sushi.
The fact is that food supply chains are in crisis, and we need to find new solutions if we’re to continue eating the foods we depend on. Yet the likely appearance of lab-grown foods – if not on grocery shelves, then at least in some restaurants in the US – is still throwing up more questions than it answers. How is it made? Is it safe? Does it taste good? Does it contain chemicals? Can vegans eat it? People are now curious, which makes this an ideal time for companies in this growing space to raise awareness through branding and marketing.
Educate audiences without preaching
When a new category offers a seemingly similar end product at a higher price point, it takes more work to win hearts and minds. More complex, science-based brands have a tendency to want to showcase the inner workings of how their products are made. The truth is, most consumers don’t connect with the technical story, they care about the experience: how the product will make them feel. If cultivated meat tastes better and makes mealtimes better and more enjoyable, that counts. The fact it also benefits the climate scenario for their children and grandchildren is really just the icing on the cake.
Looking at early leaders in the space, Gotham Greens is a stellar example of a consumer-friendly brand. It achieves this by reaching out to people in the social space with the messaging that its sustainable products are better for the planet, it tastes as good or even better, and yes – it is safe to try.
Another brand that truly excels at educating its audience is ethical egg producer, Vital Farms, putting sustainability and the welfare of chickens at the forefront of its brand. Transparency can also be a powerful tool for challenger brands or those breaking convention in their category, as mastered by Oatly with its distinctly authentic, humorous tone of voice.
Shift attitudes beyond early adopters
Tangible experiences will be important to help normalise the narrative around lab-grown food. There is nothing better than giving people samples to help them make their own judgments. To do this, brands should meet audiences in their familiar, trusted places that are familiar to them, whether that be via their favourite food delivery services, or in their regular bricks-and-mortar supermarkets.
Reaching consumers across a multitude of channels, including television and social channels like Instagram and TikTok, will also be key. We can expect to see influencers showcasing new products and celebrity chefs cooking up delicious meals using lab-grown ingredients. Ultimately, brands that are patient enough to play the long game – meeting audiences where they feel comfortable and at key cultural moments with a steady drip of awareness – will be those that build trust beyond the early adopters.
Galvanise consumers towards positive change
We all know that traditional ways of getting food are not sustainable. Food production is responsible for one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. But brands should also be aware people don’t want to make purchase choices driven by guilt or despair. They want to feel empowered and good about their buying decisions.
Having said that, brand communications across channels including social media, newsletters, email, and websites, will need a throughline that goes beyond cost, features, and price to tell the right story. While Gen Z will be a more readily engaged play for lab-grown food brands, the mass consumer audience of Gen X and older still need guidance and motivation.
One way to do this is via brand partnerships with related charities and causes. These demonstrate that brands are accountable and practise what they preach, and help people feel empowered to support what can otherwise feel an insurmountable problem.
The power of storytelling
With the future of farming and food production uncertain, cultivated products may be the primary way we’ll be getting food in ten years time. As the category shifts from food as commodity to encompass more meaning, brand story becomes more important than ever.
The challenge (and opportunity) for start-ups in such a crowded, complex space will be to tell the right brand story to ensure they can differentiate and stake their claim.
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