The copywriting for Grill’d’s new vegan burgers is smart marketing
Grill'd has made a smart decision in how it has marketed the new Beyond Burger patties, explains Josh Berg.
Grill’d has announced the introduction of the Beyond Burger patty for four of its most popular burgers, a plant-based alternative to a regular meat patty.
Upon hearing the news, my little vegan ears wiggled in excitement. I’d been waiting yonks for Grill’d to replace their vegan cheeseburger patty with the Beyond Burger.
As I scrolled down the announcement page, however, I became slightly confused. I saw images of regular mayo and crispy bacon, so decided to stop the mindless scroll and start reading.
At this point, I realised that Grill’d wasn’t targeting vegetarians and vegans: “Our Beyond Burgers are for wholesome, meat-eating carnivores who need a break from their steak.”
And then later: “Want it Vegan? Just ask.”
When launching and marketing a new plant-based patty, it’s tempting to start categorising your audience and only speak to vegetarians and vegans. But, in doing so, Grill’d would have alienated meat-eaters and lost a giant audience.
Instead, Grill’d cleverly chose to stray from the norm when marketing a plant-based dish (green colour, leafy plants and a buzzword like ‘hemp’) and speak directly to the meat-eaters.
And they’ve done it with grace and reason, speaking both to the benefits to the environment – “Beyond Meat patties require less water and energy during production and emit fewer greenhouse gasses” – and the perfectly meaty taste.
So there you have it. It’s not a burger for vegetarians. Nor is it a burger for meat eaters.
It’s a burger for everyone. And I, for one, can’t wait to get my hands on what will be my first Simply Grill’d burger since 2006.
Josh Berg is the managing director and co-founder of Hedgehog. Previously, he worked at Google and The Urban List.
Thanks for the love Josh. Our copywriter is a true whiz!
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Interesting to read this from a vegan’s perspective. The WRI has actually tested this general idea with similar conclusions;
https://www.wri.org/news/its-all-name-how-boost-sales-plant-based-menu-items
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Agree with this article – Grill’d have marketed this well by straying from the normal approach to selling vegan products.
I wonder if the little vegan ears mentioned in the second paragraph are also Beyond? I thought all ears were flesh-based, but you never know these days.
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Aren’t you the guy who wrote the article on the Hungry Jacks vegan burger campaign? You certainly have a niche!
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Yes, that was me!
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Thank you for the burgers!
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A vegan confessing they’re a vegan writing an article about companies telling about how they write about being vegan.
That’s so vegan.
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The Ehrenberg Bass Institute have always used Quorn as an example of a brand that has had success by not narrowing itself to the niche audience of vegetarians. It’s definitely smart strategy.
As a meat eater, I found the burger tasty for what it’s worth.
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Isn’t that how Beyond Burgers have always marketed themselves though? To carnivores? Hence why their products are found in the meat section of supermarkets across America.
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Good market to test impossible burger in. Healthy competition
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Interestingly, Fitness First sent a carnivore to taste test this one. It’s clever to market beyond vegans to draw in mainstream food journalists and media.
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So who is the copywriter in question? Be great to credit them, or their agency.
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Sorry to burst the bubble here, but there’s not really anything innovative or clever about marketing plant-based “meat” as “real” meat
Impossible Foods in the US took this tack from inception, eschewing the vegan food label and claiming instead that they are “growing “real meat” that “bleeds” using only plant-derived ingredients
If anything, their more scientific messaging approach set the bar in this emerging category – a standard which Grill’d falls short of, IMHO
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This is average advertising. The vegan sycophant worries me.
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WOW! They actually found a way of getting out of the ordinary without forgetting their essential target market.
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The thing is one of these burgers still has Bacon on it :-/ They are not Vegan yet.
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The copy can be found almost word for word at any of the numerous burger joints that have taken the Beyond Burger around the world. Lord of the Fries and Ribs and Burgers have already been selling Beyond in Australia, so Grill’d are just another me too option…
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