We recently spoke with Kasper Vesth, CEO of Meatless Farm North America, about the site, adjustments in customer purchasing behavior, and the current and long-term status of the plant industry.
What was the concept of launching a D2C site?
The strategy to make this product for more people and bring it directly to your doors whenever you need it. It didn’t take us long to realize that we had to do something, but [the pandemic] just accelerated it.
This turns out to be a smart time to start, especially as the transition to e-commerce grows.
Yes, and I don’t think it’s happening to die. They say it takes six weeks for other people to get a new habit, right? And it’s been over six weeks.
Obviously, I hope the pandemic will go away as soon as possible, so that we can all start socializing and buying groceries as we do. But I think many other people realize that it’s also convenient to simply order online. We see more people buying groceries this way.
When D2C brands launch a site, it’s to compare what consumers think of their products. Then they have a tendency to go through the brick and mortar path and start a whole shop or something smaller like a pop-up. Is that something you’re looking to do?
We talked about creating a pop-up store, and it’s elegant to do those days. Obviously, this is not the right time. Our purpose has been to download the distribution through classic channels.
How will you focus on those who are unaware of plant-based foods?
I think other people are curious and want to see herbal diets for physical reasons. But we still want to tell some consumers the benefits [of herbal products], such as their versatility and ease, and their smart taste.
Where do you see the plant sector heading this year?
This is only expanding this year and for many more years. There’s a need for that. Health markets expect plant-based products to succeed in approximately 10% of all stores over the next 10 years. Right now, we’re only about 1%. There’s nothing I know that’s going to contradict that.
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