1000’s of consumers are trying a vegan or veggie diet this January and 100’s of new vegan and vegetarian products and menus will be launched this month often with supply chains severely tested.
Many of us will feel better for this change in our diet and will feel better within ourselves – our diet is healthier – and about ourselves – we are doing something good for us and for the planet.
But a very significant proportion of us will return to eating meat and animal products by mid-February.
Why is Veganism just for January?
Food is an emotional experience. Yes, it must sustain us physically, but it must also sustain us emotionally.
The tastes and textures of our food prompt emotional reactions in us. Reactions that we have learnt throughout our lives. If satisfaction was purely physical we would stop eating when we have consumed the calories that we need, but all too often we continue to eat as we seek emotional, as well as physical, satisfaction.
The development of vegan foods has, in many cases, evolved beyond just trying to imitate meat, but too many vegan foods still do not hit the prompts that satisfy our emotional needs.
The way in which to make Veganism last all year is to target our consumers’ emotional journey. Foods that satisfy our emotional needs are the foods that we love and that we keep coming back to.
Communications, tastes and textures are the tools that we use to deliver the best emotional journeys – they are not the end in themselves. When we develop vegan foods that deliver a great emotional journey our customers don’t miss their old foods, veganism is a joy, not a compromise or sacrifice.
Chris Lukehurst is a Consumer Psychologist and a Director at The Marketing Clinic.
Understanding the connections between the consumer experience and their emotional responses.
