The Plant-Based Food Feud: What You Need to Know

As a plant-based burger guy who fits pretty much right in the current trend—flexitarians trying to consume less meat and generally eat a bit healthier—I love the booming number of options available in grocery stores and fast food.

But when there's gold just waiting to be mined, fierce competition is sure to follow.

In a fascinating story today available exclusively to Adweek Pro subscribers, my colleague and go-to plant-based protein expert T.L. Stanley analyzes a beef that has engulfed the faux-meat category.

Much of the fracas has played out in public, with challenger brand Lightlife running a full-page ad in major newspapers like The New York Times and calling out category leaders Impossible and Beyond as "food tech" companies whose creations come from a lab, not a kitchen.

Those brands fired back, and another challenger, Planterra, has even tried to step in and cool tempers by praising its largest competitors for their pioneering roles in mainstreaming fake-meat products.

You'll definitely want to give it a read and see how this spat is playing out via marketing efforts and PR—along with why advocates for plant-based food feel this whole thing—while potentially beneficial in the short term for consumers as competition heats up—is "counterproductive" for the category's growth.

David Griner
Creative and Innovation Editor, Adweek
david.griner@adweek.com

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