You’re vegan. You have an AMAZING idea for a product. But the only way you can think of marketing this is locally in a few stores, or do state-level shipping because shipping costs and logistics would eat up all your margins.
So, what can you, a vegan brand, do to make your product available on the global stage (and to do it right)?
Yes, sales are climbing, and yes, there are more and more plant-based products on the shelves of all supermarkets. But if you talk to a vegan brand founder and ask them about taking their brand overseas, you won’t hear the word ‘easy’ mentioned anywhere.
Think about it.
You know what’s popular where you live, and you know what kind of branding and marketing works. Will that work across the globe, though? Is what sells in L.A. the same as what sells in Seoul? Do Europe and the U.S. define something as simple as milk in the same way? Will Australians like the same recipes as Argentinians? Even if all the answers are ‘yes’, if your labeling doesn’t meet local regulations, your shipment won’t even get past customs.
Demand is definitely one of the factors of global growth, but there are other ones to think about.
Differences in Markets and Consumer Expectations
You slap on a label, then you provide elearning authoring tools to teams worldwide so that they can create, deliver, and standardize training and remove the language/culture barrier, you ship your products, and then?
Why, count your money, of course!
Wouldn’t it be amazing if this is what global scaling looked like?
Unfortunately, it’s a lot more work because what people expect from plant-based products is anything but universal. In Western Europe, for instance, vegan food is linked to health and sustainability.
Basically, if you’re vegan, you’re progressive. You want to know what the locals like, what their eating traditions are like, what kind of marketing works, and which prices will work.
Without this, your product failed before it even got to a single shelf. It’s extremely important to adapt your marketing based on the market.
Think about it – a message that’s all about health might work in the U.S., but in the Mediterranean, you’ll probably want a more tradition-friendly approach.
At the same time, you need to be careful in cultures where meat and dairy have cultural and emotional weight because consumers won’t want to buy plant-based products if you present them as something to replace the food the locals are attached to.
Regulations and Labelling Complexities
One of the hardest things you’ll need to deal with if you decide to go global is the food laws in every country.
Something that you’re allowed to put on a label in one country could be downright illegal in another. 'Milk', 'cheese', 'meat substitute', these are all tightly regulated. Some regions don’t even allow plant-based companies to use any of them whatsoever.
Then there are rules concerning allergens (e.g., soybeans, peanuts, sesame seeds, tree nuts, mustard, celery, lupin, gluten, sulphites, etc.), and they’re just as complicated, if not even more. Because there are so many of them, with each being potentially dangerous, you need to label each and every one of them meticulously. This might differ depending on the country where you’re doing business.
For example, milk, egg, fish, and shellfish are ingredients (allergens) that don’t usually appear in vegan products, but cross-contamination can still occur, and a country might force you to test and label the product for these as well.
Compared to the U.S., the standards for organic and non-GMO are MUCH stricter in Europe, which means you’ll likely be required to get new certificates before you’re allowed to sell your product in said country. This could also mean that you might need to adjust your ingredient product formula, which may affect the final outcome (looks, taste, texture, form, etc.) and potentially ruin the product.
The way out of this is working with local legal experts or compliance partners.
Otherwise, you’re pretty much guaranteed to fail.
How to Build Global Operations That Work at Scale
Here’s how to go global the right way.
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Logistics and Distribution – It’s neither cheap nor easy to ship perishable vegan goods, so you should partner with regional producers to lower the cost and reduce the impact on the environment.
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Local Partnerships and Retail Channels – A trusted local distributor can open many doors for you. Co-packing and licensing will help you stay in line with the standards while speeding entry at the same time.
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Workforce and Knowledge Transfer – Local teams know what it takes to keep a brand consistent, so take advantage of that. If you train new employees and tweak workflows so they work across time zones, you’ll be able to manage everything from afar.
Conclusion
Having a great product – regardless of how great and amazing it is – is only the first step towards having a global brand. In fact, it’s the most important step, sure, but it’s also the easiest one. A lot of people can come up with a great idea. Not many of them can transform them into a business.
There’s no playbook that’ll tell you how to find success in the international market, but if you’re willing to take it slow and be smart about it, you have a good shot at success.
If, on the other hand, you assume you know everything about everything and go at it, your dream will be over before you stick to the first label.
