Pollen & Grace has faced backlash from some customers for its decision to add chicken products to its range, with many threatening to stop buying its products due to its shift away from plant-based meals.
The company has added a Chilli Chicken & Slaw Salad Bowl (rsp: £4.95/265g), and a Pesto Chicken & Greens Salad Bowl (rsp: £4.95/263g) to its food-to-go offering, which is stocked in Ocado and Amazon. It marks the first time in eight years the health-led brand has offered meat dishes. The brand’s wider plant-based portfolio spans salad bowls, rice bowls, wraps and ready meals.
However, the launch has drawn criticism from some customers after the brand announced the new chicken dishes via an Instagram update last week. The post had received more than 115 comments by the time of publication, most of them negative.
One user said they were “really disappointed” that Pollen & Grace had started offering meat. “You used to be a full vegan brand and that was the reason I supported you,” they added. A number of customers said they would no longer support the brand.
Pollen & Grace, which was founded in 2015, initially offered both meat and plant-based meals via a lunch delivery service. It moved into grocery with a fully plant-based range in 2018. The company said it decided to launch chicken products to support its “long-term growth” and that it would “maintain its commitment to plant-based options”.
Moving into meat products
When approached by The Grocer, Pollen & Grace said it anticipated the reaction from its “loyal plant-based consumer base” but opted to be transparent rather than quietly introduce meat to its range. Kerry Hopkins, head of brand, said the company had always positioned itself as plant-based, rather than “strictly vegan”, as “this felt more aligned” with its broader mission.
“We wanted to face it head on,” she said. “It didn’t feel aligned with our values to hide it. At least this way we’re being open, even if some people are upset.”
The decision to reintroduce meat was driven by customer research that revealed strong demand for animal protein, according to Claire Whitfield, head of product at Pollen & Grace. In a LinkedIn post, Whitfield said 79% of the brand’s regular consumers eat meat, which presented what she described as a “big opportunity” for the brand.
The company has used a range of tools to “truly understand” its shoppers and what they want from the category, added Hopkins. “The big thing that came up again and again, that we weren’t expecting, was that people wanted options with animal protein. They didn’t necessarily want everything to be plant-based,” she said.
Chicken was “consistently” the top choice across different shopper segments as the ”protein people associate most with health,” said Hopkins. That meant making chicken its primary meat offering was an easy choice, avoiding pork or beef and instead focusing on what it sees as a “leaner, healthier protein”.
“We fundamentally believe in the future of plant-based and in people eating more plants, whether that’s alongside chicken or dairy, we always want to have plant-based options on the shelf,” said Hopkins.
Responding to the launch, Charlotte Derra, co-founder of sales and marketing insights provider Deovise, suggested there could have been ”barriers to listings for a purely plant-based brand”.
“They are probably being told how well chicken products sells and can see that in the data. We also have the protein trend that isn’t going away and the new word on the street with GLP-1 is that everything needs to be ‘nutrient rich’,” she said.
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