hannah campbell

For years, to be a ‘vegetarian’ was largely considered by many as an atypical affliction. Today, according to NatCen’s British Social Attitudes survey, nearly a third of Brits are reducing the amount of meat in their diets.

Sales of meat-free items, such as Quorn, have risen dramatically, and restaurauteurs are seeing customers more frequently opting for veggie alternatives. Pret A Manger recently reported selling 17,000 veggie superbowl salads every week last year, far outpacing its meat and fish varieties.

To cater to the rising popularity of ‘flexitarianism’, otherwise known as occasional meat eating, Britain’s supermarkets are devoting ever-expanding space to meat-free items, and popular food chains are expanding veggie ranges across the board. But are sales figures and independent attitude surveys really enough to tell brands what this new breed of ‘flexitarians’ want?

Making assumptions about what consumers want from your brand is a big risk, as Pret A Manger indicated earlier this month when it announced a veggie-only pop-up in Soho. Pret A Manger CMO Mark Palmer suggested that marketers often find it hard to listen as they usually have their minds already made up and that, as a result, brands frequently jump the gun and launch propositions without consulting their customers first. He described Pret A Manger’s veggie pop-up as an opportunity to show customers that the company is genuinely listening to their views. As Palmer puts it: “If customers want to be part of your brand, you need to take them seriously.”

It’s one thing to identify new food trends and changing consumer attitudes; it’s another to understand how your customers want these incorporated into your brand. The only way for retailers and food brands to understand the changes they need to make is to engage with consumers directly to obtain their thoughts and opinions. As demonstrated by Pret A Manger, sampling new concepts and recipes is an ideal way to garner invaluable insight, as well as directly engage with consumers to let them know you value their opinion.

Hannah Campbell is operations director at The Work Perk