Yello, lovely people ! I am Jinal Shah
I am The Vegan Marketer , India’s 1st VEGAN marketing consultant EXCLUSIVELY serving vegan and plant-based products and brands.
What makes me The Vegan Marketer?
I love visual explanations. Here is my amateur attempt at a visual explanation:
Did the image help clarify? Nope?
Oh, well! I better stick to using words to explain.
I have diverse and long experience (15+ years, but who’s counting?) as a marketer with great companies and clients like Godrej, Unilever, etc.
You can check out my detailed marketing work experience at my marketing website www.ifiweremarketing.com
Also…
I have been an ardent, full fledged vegan since October 2021.
Before 2021, I was a partial vegan since >20 years (no leather, no animal tested products).
Hence…
The Vegan Marketer i.e. a marketer who is vegan and who is determined, skilled and experienced to help market vegan products.
How is The Vegan Marketer different from other marketing consultant or agency?
The rational reason is that you don’t need to convince me about the purpose or cause behind your offering. Being a vegan since 2 years, I just “get it”. I know your TG (because I was one not too long ago. And most of my personal network comprises of non-vegans and flexitarians). So I know the pain points, hesitation, doubts of your TG, be it vegans, non-vegans, vegan-curious.
Being a VEGAN marketer, I know what would attract us vegans (what to DEFINITELY do) and what would repel non-vegans (hence, what NOT to do).
The emotional reason is that this is IT for me. I am ALL IN! Even if, god forbid, this doesn’t work out, it’s not going to make me change direction.
Why do I so badly want to help ONLY vegan brands exclusively? That’s because if, through my marketing efforts, I manage to help sell even one additional unit of a vegan product, I would have helped save at least one life in exchange. And I’d be doing it by ensuring that we are offering people something they’ll love. Win-win-win, right?
So why shouldn’t I use my 16+ years of marketing experience, skills, knowledge towards growing and supporting this niche?
Oh, I almost forgot. A fun fact: I was also on the Jury of the 1st ever Plant-based industry awards at the 2nd Plant-Based Food Summit, 2023.
Why is marketing a vegan product different from marketing other products?
- No other industry or sector evokes such strong feelings and opinions towards or against it
- Because for most people, vegan products are not solving any existing pain point (except for health reasons). It is doubly hard to convince and retain people in such a scenario, right?
- Because there are too many distinct and vocal customer segments to choose from: Vegans, non vegans, flexitarians, eco-minded/ environmentally conscious people. health conscious, ethically inclined people
- Very few people find a vegan product relatable i.e. “this is definitely for me”
- Higher customer acquisition cost and limited budget
- Strong mistrust or perception amongst majority that vegan products are not as good as the original ones containing animal products. Hence, very high resistance towards such products.
- Most vegan brands are new. So they have to do category education + brand awareness + new product awareness. Too much for someone to do without expert help.
- Vegan products have to compete against not only each other but also against non-vegan incumbents (e.g. vegan milks vs other vegan milks vs dairy milk, see the problem?) These incumbents not only have deep pockets and centuries old legacy but are also a part of customer habit.
Want some examples of how I approach marketing for vegan products?
As seen on/ in
Why did I become The Vegan Marketer?
Flashback story time…
Despite being a happy marketer for 15+ years, lately I had started feeling restless, like something was amiss. Wanted to use my marketing experience and skills towards something more meaningful.
I wondered if I was making a mistake by rethinking status quo when career was going smoothly and I wasn’t unhappy.
People around were surprised when I took a break of ~5 months to figure out how I could use my marketing skills to give back, make a positive impact.
In October 2021, I faced some health issues. I became a full fledged vegan.
Boy! Did I fall in love with it or what!! I experienced better, stronger health. Constant research cemented my belief that veganism could be a game changer for our health, animals and the environment.
I believed vegan businesses and I could together multiply the impact veganism could have.
Hence, The Vegan Marketer. Marketing For vegan products. From a vegan.