Celebrating the entrepreneurs redefining what’s possible in plant-based business

Nobody was waiting for these women to show up. The industries they walked into weren’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat. The investors weren’t lining up. The timing was never quite right. And yet here they are – ten founders who built some of the most exciting vegan and wellness brands around, out of frustration, necessity, and a refusal to wait for conditions that were never going to be perfect anyway.

Some had health scares that changed everything. Some just couldn’t find a product they actually wanted to use. Some were told flat-out that their idea wasn’t viable. None of that stopped them.

This Women’s Day, we’re celebrating them. And if you’ve been sitting on something, waiting for the right moment, consider this your nudge. The right moment was probably a while ago. These women will tell you the same thing.

1. Slutty Vegan – Pinky Cole

What they do: Vegan fast-casual restaurants known for indulgent, over-the-top burgers

Slutty Vegan doesn’t market itself as “healthy” or “clean.” It’s unapologetically indulgent, bold, and fun – making plant-based food accessible to people who’d never step foot in a health food store.

The story:
Pinky Cole started making moves from her two-bedroom apartment in July of 2018, selling Slutty Vegan’s signature burgers to order via Instagram. In a few weeks’ time, she was filling orders around Atlanta and serving burgers from a mobile food truck. She built the brand on personality, community, and damn good food. Lines wrapped around the block from day one. In 2022, she sold a stake to Danny Meyer’s Enlightened Hospitality Investments, but in March 2025, she bought it back, regaining full control of her vision. She is restructuring her business through a Chapter 11 filing in March 2026. 

What you can learn:
You don’t have to follow the rules of your industry. Pinky didn’t try to fit into the “wellness” mold of plant-based eating. She created a brand that felt authentic to her, and people responded. Also, sometimes you have to take outside investment to scale, but you don’t have to give up your vision forever. Changes and restructuring are all a part of running a business. 

2. Crafty Counter (WunderEggs) – Hema Reddy

What they do: Plant-based hard-boiled eggs

WunderEggs are the first ready-to-eat vegan hard-boiled eggs in the U.S.– not liquid scrambles or baking substitutes, but actual boiled eggs you can slice, snack on, or add to salads.

The story:
Hema Reddy grew up in India watching her parents obsess over wholesome ingredients – cooking was their love language. After migrating to the U.S. as a young working mother of two, she was constantly on the road and frustrated by the lack of convenient, healthy snacks. In 2020, her whole family switched to plant-based eating. But they really missed eggs. So Hema spent two-and-a-half years developing WunderEggs from her kitchen counter, refusing to add questionable ingredients despite countless experts telling her it couldn’t be done with simple, whole-food ingredients.

What you can learn:
Don’t compromise on what matters to you. Hema was told repeatedly to add processed ingredients to make development easier. She refused. When you stay true to your values, even when it’s harder, you build a product people can trust.

3. Nuts for Cheese – Margaret Coons

What they do: Artisanal cashew-based vegan cheese

Nuts for Cheese uses fermentation to create complex, aged flavors that mimic traditional dairy cheese – no nutritional yeast or artificial flavors.

The story:
Margaret Coons launched Nuts for Cheese at a farmer’s market in London, Ontario, in 2015. As a vegan chef, she’d been experimenting with fermented cashew cheese while working at a local vegan restaurant, and decided to see if anyone else wanted what she was making. The response was immediate – local retailers and restaurants started asking to carry her products. What began as late-night kitchen rentals and early morning farmers market setups has grown into one of Canada’s top plant-based cheese brands.

What you can learn:
Margaret didn’t rush to market with a “good enough” product – she took the time to perfect her process. When you prioritize quality over speed, you build a brand people trust and recommend.

4. Sweet Loren’s – Loren Brill

What they do: Ready-to-bake vegan and gluten-free cookie dough

Sweet Loren’s makes clean-ingredient cookie dough that’s as convenient as the conventional stuff. No weird additives, no complicated prep.

The story:
At 22, Loren Brill was diagnosed with cancer right after graduating from USC. Beating it changed everything for her. She overhauled her diet but refused to give up desserts. When she couldn’t find clean-ingredient cookie dough, she made her own in her tiny NYC apartment. Today, Sweet Loren’s is the #1 natural cookie dough in America, sold in over 35,000 stores.

What you can learn:
Crisis forces clarity. Loren’s cancer diagnosis made trivial fears disappear – suddenly, “what if my cookie dough business fails?” seemed ridiculous compared to what she’d already survived. Build something that matters enough that you’d regret not trying.

5. Tower 28 – Amy Liu

What they do: 100% clean, vegan makeup and skincare for sensitive skin

Tower 28 is the first beauty brand to be simultaneously 100% clean, vegan, and completely free of known skin irritants, with every formula following the National Eczema Association’s ingredient guidelines. 

The story:

Amy Liu spent over 15 years as a beauty executive at some of the biggest names in the industry, but as a longtime eczema sufferer, she couldn’t use the very products she had a hand in promoting. The clean alternatives that existed were either unaffordable or looked like they came straight from a dermatologist’s office. She launched Tower 28 in 2019, naming it after a lifeguard tower in Santa Monica – a place where, as she put it, you see every kind of person, not just the blonde, blue-eyed models used in most beauty advertising. As a Chinese American who grew up feeling like an outsider, she wanted to break the mold of what a beachy LA beauty brand looks like.

What you can learn:

The biggest opportunities aren’t always in crowded markets – they’re in the gaps you personally experience. Amy worked in beauty for 15 years but couldn’t use most of the products she sold. That frustration became her competitive advantage.

6. BettaF!sh – Deniz Ficicioglu

What they do: Plant-based seafood made from seaweed

While most plant-based seafood relies primarily on soy or pea protein, BettaF!sh puts seaweed at the center – combining it with fava beans and pea protein to replicate both the ocean taste and nutritional profile (including omega-3s) of real fish.

The story:
Deniz Ficicioglu had food intolerances that forced her to read ingredient labels obsessively, and she realized most foods rely on just five main ingredients. As an innovation manager researching future food systems, she became fascinated by seaweed’s potential. When she met Jacob von Manteuffel, who’d just filmed a documentary about seaweed pioneers, they co-founded BettaF!sh in 2020. Their mission: make seaweed mainstream by creating plant-based seafood that actually tastes like fish. Today, their TU-NAH product is in supermarkets across eight European countries.

What you can learn:
Sometimes the “aha moment” comes from constraint. Deniz’s food intolerances made her hyper-aware of ingredient systems – a frustration that led to expertise. Your limitations might be showing you a problem worth solving.

7. MaryRuth Organics – MaryRuth Ghiyam

What they do: Vegan vitamins, supplements, and wellness products

MaryRuth Organics makes supplements that are actually pleasant to take – liquid vitamins, gummies, and sprays that don’t taste like punishment.

The story:
MaryRuth Ghiyam and her mother Colleen founded MaryRuth Organics in 2014 after personal tragedy shaped their understanding of health and healing. After losing her father and her brother, MaryRuth became a nutritional consultant obsessed with finding supplements her clients would actually take. When she couldn’t find liquid vitamins that didn’t make people nauseous, she made her own. She convinced a manufacturer to produce just 90 bottles, sold them from her New York apartment and on Amazon, and built what’s now a $100+ million company.

What you can learn:
Make your product enjoyable to use. MaryRuth understood that the best supplement is the one people will actually take. When you remove friction from the user experience, you increase adoption.

8.OSEA Malibu – Jenefer and Melissa Palmer

What they do: Vegan, seaweed-based skincare

OSEA has been making clean, ocean-derived skincare since 1996 – long before “clean beauty” was a category. They were early adopters of sustainability and transparency.

The story:
Jenefer Palmer founded OSEA in her Malibu kitchen over 25 years ago, inspired by her family’s history of using seaweed for health and wellness. Today, her daughter Melissa runs the company, continuing the legacy of creating luxurious, effective skincare powered by the ocean. OSEA is now sold at Sephora and has a cult following for products like the Ocean Cleansing Mudd and Hyaluronic Sea Serum.

What you can learn:
OSEA didn’t chase trends, they built a brand with staying power by staying true to their core values. When you’re consistent, you build trust over time.

9. Femly – Arion Long

What they do: 100% organic cotton menstrual products and touchless dispensers

Femly created the world’s first touchless pad and tampon vending machine that increases free access to period care in public restrooms. The dispensers use sensors that work for all skin tones.

The story:
At 26, Arion Long was diagnosed with a tumor linked directly to chemicals in mainstream feminine products. Shocked to learn that 90% of pads and tampons contain dioxins and BPA (known carcinogens), she launched Femly in 2016, and within a month, she won $125,000 at a pitch competition. Today, Femly products are in CVS, Target, and Walmart, and her touchless dispensers are in schools, stadiums, and offices nationwide. She’s one of the first 150 Black women in U.S. history to raise over $1 million in venture capital.

What you can learn:
Turn your diagnosis into your mission. Arion didn’t just create a safer product for herself – she built infrastructure to make period care accessible to homeless women, students, and anyone who needs it. When you solve a problem that affects millions, you’re not just building a business – you’re building a movement.

10. EADEM – Marie Kouadio Amouzame & Alice Lin Glover

What they do: Skincare formulated specifically for melanin-rich skin

EADEM pioneered “Smart Melanin Beauty” – skincare that addresses hyperpigmentation and dark spots without lightening overall skin tone, a common issue with products tested only on white skin.

The story:
Marie (French-Ivorian) and Alice (Taiwanese-American) bonded over spreadsheets of skincare products, and they kept running into the same frustration: Why did they have to choose between skincare that actually worked and skincare that acknowledged their melanin-rich skin? Most hyperpigmentation products were tested only on older white skin with age spots, not the post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation that affects skin of color. So they quit their jobs, bootstrapped EADEM (Latin for “the same”), and launched their Milk Marvel Dark Spot Serum in 2021. They’re completely self-funded, and building what they call “Smart Melanin Beauty.”

What you can learn:
If you and your friends are all experiencing the same problem, there’s a market. Marie and Alice didn’t need a massive market research study – they lived the gap in the market every day. And you don’t need VC funding to build a successful brand. 

The Common Thread

The brands that endure aren’t built on trends. They’re built on something the founder couldn’t let go of, even when it was hard, even when no one believed in it yet.

If you’re building something right now – or sitting on an idea you’ve been too scared to start – that’s probably the most useful thing in this list. Not the funding strategies or the product innovation. Just that. The stubbornness to keep going when the industry tells you it’s not a priority.

It always was. They just proved it.

Inspired but not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered. From Email Marketing from Scratch to AI for Vegan Entrepreneurs, our courses give you the practical skills to turn your idea into reality. Check out what we offer here!

The post 10 Women-Owned Vegan & Wellness Startups to Watch in 2026 first appeared on Vegan Mainstream and is written by Vegan Mainstream.

Let’s say you’re running a vegan supplement brand and you have three product ideas. A sleep support blend, a digestive enzyme, or an energy booster. You have no clue which one will actually sell.

You could guess. You could spend thousands on market research. Or you could do this: Feed six months of customer comments from Amazon reviews, Reddit threads, and Instagram into ChatGPT. Ask it to find patterns in what people are complaining about.

If digestion comes up 47 times and sleep only comes up 12 times, you have your answer. In 20 minutes, not three months.

That’s what I keep seeing with vegan entrepreneurs who are actually growing right now. They’re not using AI to replace themselves or sound like robots. They’re using it to test ideas faster, skip the paralysis spiral, and get back to the work they actually started their business to do.

Here’s exactly how.

1. Testing Ideas Before They Waste Months Building Them

You have a list somewhere, mental or actual, of things you have been “meaning to do” for your business. 

Launch a course. Start a podcast. Redesign your website. Create a new product line. But you never do it because what if you spend three months on it and nobody cares? What if you invest money and it flops?

So the ideas just sit there. 

Here’s what you can do now: Test the idea before you build the whole thing.

Say you want to launch a new vegan protein powder, but you’re not sure what flavor to lead with. Instead of guessing based on what you personally like, you could:

• Copy customer reviews from competitor products on Amazon
• Grab comments from Reddit threads about vegan protein
• Pull Instagram comments from posts about protein powders
• Paste it all into ChatGPT

Then ask: “What problems are people complaining about most? What flavors do they wish existed? What keeps coming up?”

Maybe you discover people are sick of chocolate and vanilla and keep asking for chai or matcha. Maybe you find out texture matters more than flavor. 

You don’t need to build it to know if it’s worth building. AI lets you sketch it out, pressure-test it, and decide if it’s actually worth your time, before you’re in too deep.

Try this: Take your next “someday” idea. Spend 30 minutes gathering what people are already saying about that topic (reviews, comments, forum posts). Feed it into ChatGPT or Claude. Ask: “What are the top 3 problems people mention here?” See what comes back.

2. Making Decisions Without Spiraling for Three Days

If you ever spent two hours researching which email platform to use, or an entire week trying to pick a product name, or three days redoing your pricing strategy for the fourth time… you know.

It’s not that you are indecisive. It’s when you are running everything yourself, every choice feels high-stakes. What if you pick wrong? What if you waste money? What if this is the decision that tanks everything?

So you research. And research. And research some more. And guess what? That’s also wasting time. 

What you could do instead: Compress the research phase from hours to minutes.

Let’s say you’re stuck choosing between Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and Klaviyo for your vegan bakery. You’ve been “looking into it” for two weeks. Open ChatGPT and type:

“I run a small vegan bakery. Budget is $50/month max. I need something that integrates with Shopify, has easy automation for abandoned cart emails, and doesn’t require a PhD to figure out. Compare these three platforms and tell me which fits best.”

You’ll get a breakdown in two minutes. It won’t make the decision for you, but it’ll kill the endless loop of “but what if I’m missing something?” so you can actually choose and keep moving.

Try this: Next time you’re stuck on a decision, write out exactly what you need (budget, features, constraints). Ask ChatGPT to compare your options based on those criteria. You’ll still make the final call, you’ll just get there faster.

3. Actually Understand Their Customers (Without Hiring a Data Analyst)

You read comments. You scroll through reviews. You check your DMs. 

But when you are running a business solo or with a tiny team, you’re too close to it. You see individual pieces of feedback, but you miss the pattern. 

Here’s what you might be missing: The thing your customers are literally telling you, over and over, in slightly different words.

Let’s say you run a skincare brand. You have hundreds of reviews. Mostly positive, 4-5 stars. But sales have plateaued, and you can’t figure out why.

Here’s what you could do: Copy every review from the past six months into a Google Doc. Paste it into Claude. Ask it to find recurring themes, both positive and negative.

You might discover that people keep mentioning your pump bottle is “hard to use,” or “you can’t get the last bit out.” Things you’ve been reading individually but never saw as a pattern. Just random one-off complaints.

But when AI shows you it’s actually coming up repeatedly, you know it’s worth fixing. You don’t need a data analyst. You just need to get all the feedback in one place and ask AI to spot what you’re too exhausted to see.

Try this: Grab your last 50 customer emails, reviews, or DMs. Paste them into Claude or ChatGPT. Ask: “What are people saying they love? What keeps coming up as a complaint or friction point?” See what patterns emerge.

4. Finishing Content Instead of Staring at a Blank Screen Until You Give Up

You know you need to post on social media. You know you need to send that newsletter. You know your website copy needs updating.

But every time you sit down to write, your brain just… freezes. You spend an hour staring at a blank screen, second-guessing every sentence, and eventually giving up.

It’s not that you’re a bad writer. It’s that starting from nothing is brutal when you’re already running on fumes from everything else.

What could help: Use AI to get you past the blank screen so you can actually write.

Every Monday, you could open Claude and ask it to brainstorm five email subject lines about whatever you’re planning to write about. Pick one, tweak it to sound like you, then write the rest yourself. What used to take two hours (including 90 minutes of procrastination and self-doubt) might take 30 minutes.

Or try this: Paste your brain dump into Claude and ask it to organize your thoughts into an outline. You’re not asking it to write for you – you’re asking it to give you a structure so you’re not starting from zero.

Because the hardest part isn’t the writing, it’s starting.

Try this: Next time you’re stuck on content, open Claude and dump everything in your brain about the topic. Just word-vomit it. Then ask: “Turn this into a simple outline I can use to write from.” You’ll still write it in your voice, you just won’t be staring at a blank page anymore.

5. Getting Your Time Back So Running Your Business Doesn’t Feel Like Drowning

You didn’t start a vegan business to spend 20 hours a week answering the same customer questions, scheduling posts, and organizing spreadsheets. 

You started it because you wanted to create something meaningful, help people, make an impact… But somewhere along the way, you became a full-time admin assistant. The actual work you love? You barely have time for it anymore. 

Here’s what could change: Stop doing everything manually. Let AI handle the repetitive stuff so you can do the work only you can do.

Let’s say you’re a vegan wellness coach spending 15 hours a week on admin:

• Answering the same 10 customer questions over and over
• Transcribing coaching calls so you’ll remember what was discussed
• Organizing feedback and trying to figure out what’s actually useful

You could use AI to:

• Draft responses to FAQs (you’d still personalize before sending)
• Auto-transcribe calls with Otter.ai so you can focus on the conversation instead of scribbling notes
• Summarize client feedback and flag patterns without reading every single response

That could mean getting 10 hours back. Every week. Which you could use to finally build that program you’ve been putting off. Or take an actual day off. 

That’s what this is really about. Not “productivity hacks.” Getting back to the reason you started this thing in the first place.Try this: Write down every repetitive task you do weekly. Pick one. Ask yourself: “Could AI do 60% to 80% of this so I just review and finish?” Start there.

Where to Start 

Pick one thing from this list. Just one.

Try it this week. See what happens.

You don’t need to overhaul your entire business or become an AI expert. You just need to stop doing one thing manually that’s eating your time for no reason.

Want the full roadmap? Our AI From Scratch course shows you exactly how to integrate AI into your vegan business – no tech jargon, no fluff. Just practical, hands-on strategies you can start using today to save time, create content faster, and get back to the work you actually love.

The post 5 Ways Successful Vegan Entrepreneurs Use AI to Grow first appeared on Vegan Mainstream and is written by Vegan Mainstream.

The brands that win in 2026 will be those that embrace transparency not as a marketing checkbox, but as a core philosophy.

Because people are tired of “sustainable” companies that exploit workers. Tired of “ethical” brands owned by corporations with terrible track records. Tired of influencers hawking products they don’t use. Tired of polished marketing that says nothing real.

And as a vegan business, you might think you’re exempt from this skepticism because you’re actually doing the right thing.

But that’s not how it works anymore.

Consumers are doing their homework. They’re reading ingredient lists, researching supply chains, checking who owns your company, and looking at your social media to see if you’re actually walking the talk or just performing for the algorithm.

It’s not enough to post your mission statement and call it a day. You need to let people see how you actually operate, what you stand for, and who’s making the decisions.

So if you’re actually doing things right, you need to show people that. Not once. Consistently.

Because your competitors (ethical or not) are also saying they do those things. And without transparency, people have no way to know who’s telling the truth.

This post is about what real transparency actually looks like – and why most businesses are getting it wrong.

The Problem: “Transparency” Has Become Another Marketing Buzzword

Most businesses talk about transparency the way they talk about sustainability or authenticity – as a box to check, not a practice to live by. 

They’ll share a cute behind-the-scenes photo. They’ll write heartfelt Instagram captions. And then they disappear back into polished, curated content that says nothing real. 

And you know what? People notice. 

Because trust isn’t built on a single vulnerable post. It’s built on consistency. On showing up even when it’s uncomfortable. On admitting when you don’t have all the answers. 

Because the truth is: people don’t trust brands. They trust people. And if you are hiding behind your brand instead of showing up as the human running it, you are making it harder for people to trust you. 

What Real Transparency Actually Looks Like

Real transparency isn’t about oversharing or posting every detail of your business. It’s about being honest and consistent in how you show up. 

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

1. Share What You’re Still Figuring Out

You don’t need to have everything figured out before you talk about it. 

In fact, sharing what you are currently working on – your experiments, your questions, your uncertainties – makes you more relatable, not less credible. 

Example:

Instead of only posting about a finished product launch, share: “We are testing two versions of this recipe right now, and honestly, we are not sure which one works better. Here is what we are trying…”

People appreciate honesty. They don’t need you to be perfect. They need you to be real. 

2. Admit When You Mess Up (And Show How You’re Fixing It)

Mistakes happen. Shipments get delayed. Recipes don’t turn out right. You accidentally say the wrong thing in a post or video. 

The businesses that build trust aren’t the ones that never mess up – they are the ones that own it when they do. 

Example:

Instead of deleting a post or pretending nothing happened, say: We messed up. Here is what happened, here is why, and here is what we are doing to fix it.”

This isn’t weakness. It’s integrity. And people remember that. 

3. Let People See the Humans Behind the Business

Your customers aren’t buying from “a brand.” They are buying from you. 

So let them see you. Let them hear your voice. Let them know the person (or people) making the decisions, packing the orders, answering the emails. 

Example:

Instead of: “We are excited to announce…”

Try: “I spent the last three weeks testing this recipe; it took longer than I expected, but I’m excited to finally share it with you.”

It’s a small tweak, but it changes everything, because suddenly, you are not a faceless company, but a person they can connect with. 

4. Show Your Process, Not Just Your Results

People are tired of seeing only the polished side – big numbers, finished product, perfect testimonials… They want to see how it came to be. The struggle.The iterations. The challenges you faced along the way.

Example: 

Instead of only posting a polished product photo, share: “This version took four tries to get right. Here is what didn’t work the first three times…”

This doesn’t make you look unprofessional. It makes you look human. And that’s what people are craving. 

5. Be Clear About What You Stand For (And What You Don’t)

Transparency isn’t just about what you share – it’s also about what you stand for. 

Your audience wants to know: What do you actually care about? What won’t you compromise on? What values drive your decisions?

And here is the uncomfortable part: when you are clear about your values, some people won’t like you. And that’s okay. Because the people who do align with your values will trust you more deeply.

Example:
Instead of staying neutral on everything, say: “We only work with suppliers who meet these specific standards. If that’s not a fit for you, that’s okay – but it’s non-negotiable for us.”

Being clear is what builds trust. Vagueness erodes it. 

6. Respond Like a Human, Not a PR Team

This one is simple, but so many businesses get it wrong. 

When someone asks a question, answer like a person. When someone leaves a comment, reply as if you are talking to a friend, not drafting a press release. 

Example:
Instead of: “Thank you for your feedback. We value all customer input.”
Try: “Thanks for this! Honestly, we’ve been debating this exact thing internally. Here is where we are at…”

People can tell the difference. And they’ll trust you more when you sound like a real person. 

The Bottom Line

Transparency isn’t a marketing tactic. It’s a practice.

It’s showing up as you are and admitting when you don’t have all the answers. It’s letting people see the imperfect parts of what you are building. 

And yes, that can feel vulnerable, but vulnerability is what builds trust. Not perfection. 

So if you want people to trust your vegan business in 2026, stop trying to sound like a brand. Instead, start showing up like a human.

Want More Support?

If you’re building a vegan business and want a community of people who get it, join Vegan Mainstream Community. It’s where vegan entrepreneurs support each other through the messy, real parts of building something meaningful.

[Join Vegan Mainstream Community]

Or if you want help building authentic marketing that actually connects with people, check out our Social Media From Scratch course, designed to help you show up as yourself, not a polished version of what you think people want to see.

[Explore Social Media From Scratch]

The post You Think You’re Being Transparent. Your Customers Don’t. Here’s Why. first appeared on Vegan Mainstream and is written by Vegan Mainstream.

Running a vegan business in 2026 isn’t what it was five or ten years ago. And that’s a good thing! Let me tell you why. 

The vegan market is more competitive, more saturated, and more sophisticated than ever. Consumers are savvier. They are not just looking for vegan products – they are looking for brands they trust, businesses that align with their values, and entrepreneurs who show up authentically. 

Which means the old playbook doesn’t quite work anymore. You can’t just slap “vegan” on something and expect people to care. You need a strategy. You need clarity. And you need to avoid the mistakes that cost even the most passionate plant-based businesses. 

In this post, I’m breaking down the do’s and don’ts of running a vegan business in 2026, so you can build something that suits your lifestyle, serves your customers, and actually lasts.

The DO’s: What Actually Works in 2026

1. DO build your business around what your customers actually need

This sounds obvious, I know, but I see vegan entrepreneurs make this mistake constantly: they build businesses around what they love, not what their customers are trying to solve. 

You might be passionate about nutrition. But your customer? They just want dinner on the table without the stress. You might love sustainability. But your customer? They want to know if your product actually works before they care about your packaging. 

Start with the problem. Build the solution. Then share your passion. Your business exists to serve your customers, not the other way around. 

2. DO get clear on who you are actually serving

“Everyone who’s vegan” is not a target audience. “Anyone interested in plant-based living” is not a target audience. 

You need specificity. Who are you really here for? What do they care about? What keeps them up at night? What brands do they already love? 

The more specific you get, the easier everything else becomes: your messaging, your marketing, your product development. All of it gets clearer when you know exactly who you are talking to. 

3. DO invest in systems and tools that save you time

If you are still doing everything manually, you are burning time you don’t have. 

Automate what you can. Use scheduling tools. Batch your content. Hire help, even if it’s just a few hours a week. Use AI to handle boring, repetitive tasks. 

You have to keep in mind that your time is your most valuable asset. So, protect it. 

4. DO price your products and services like a real business

Underpricing doesn’t make you accessible; it makes you unsustainable. 

If you are charging poverty wages for your work because you feel guilty about making money, you are not helping anyone. You are just ensuring your business won’t last. 

Price for the value you provide. Price for your expertise. Price so you can actually pay yourself and reinvest in growth. 

Your customers want you to succeed. Let them support you fairly. 

5. DO build community, not just an audience

An audience watches. A community engages. 

Have you noticed that the vegan businesses that thrive aren’t just broadcasting content – they are creating spaces where people connect, ask questions, share wins, and support each other. 

Whether that’s a Facebook group, an Instagram account, a membership site, or just really engaged comments on your posts, build the space where your people can find each other. 

The DON’Ts: What’s Holding Vegan Businesses Back in 2026

1. DON’T mistake passion for strategy

Look, I love that you care. I love that you are building something that aligns with your values. But passion alone doesn’t pay the bills, and it definitely doesn’t create a sustainable business. 

I’ve seen so many vegan entrepreneurs pour their hearts into their work, only to realize a year later that they have no idea how to actually make money from it. They are creating content. They are showing up. But they don’t have a clear offer, a sales process, or a way to turn interest into revenue. 

Passion gets you started. Strategy keeps you going. 

If you don’t know how people become paying customers, you don’t have a business yet – you have a very expensive hobby. 

2. DON’T Copy what everyone else is doing

The vegan space is getting crowded. And when things get crowded, people panic and start mimicking what they see others doing. 

Someone’s crushing it with reels? Everyone starts doing reels. Someone’s launching a course? Everyone launches a course. Someone’s using a specific aesthetic? Suddenly, every vegan brand looks identical. 

Keep in mind: what works for them might not work for you. And even if it does, you’ll just be one voice in a very loud echo chamber. 

You don’t need to overthink this. Your differentiation is you – your perspective, your approach, your voice. Lean into that instead of trying to be a slightly different version of someone else. 

3. DON’T treat your business like it’s seperate from your life

This one might sound contradictory to “don’t burn out”, but hear me out.

A lot of entrepreneurs operate like their business is a separate entity that exists over there, and their life is over here. So they force themselves to work in ways that don’t fit their actual life. They adopt routines that don’t work for them. They push through exhaustion because “that’s what entrepreneurs do.”

But your business is part of your life. It should fit into it, not consume it. 

If you are a morning person, lean into that. If you need afternoons off, build your business around that. If you hate video, don’t force yourself to do daily reels just because someone said you should. 

Build a business that actually works for your life, not someone else’s version of success. 

4. DON’T Burn yourself out trying to do everything alone

You don’t get extra credit for doing it all yourself. 

If you are handling every task, answering every email, creating every piece of content – you are not being dedicated. You are being inefficient. 

Delegate. Automate. Ask for help. Hire support. Join a community where you can get advice. Your business needs you healthy and energized, not burnt out and resentful.

5. DON’T Stay silent because you’re afraid of being “too much”

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is staying invisible because you don’t want to seem pushy, salesy, or self-promotional. 

Because the reality is: if you don’t tell people what you offer, they won’t know. If you don’t ask for the sale, they won’t buy it. If you don’t show up consistently, they’ll forget you exist. 

Talking about your work isn’t bragging. It’s how you serve the people who need you. 

Here’s What I Want You to Remember

Running a vegan business in 2026 means being strategic, not just passionate. It means showing up consistently, pricing fairly, building community, and knowing exactly who you are here to serve. 

It also means letting go of perfectionism, asking for help, and refusing to stay silent about the work you are doing. 

You don’t need to do all of this perfectly. You just need to start. Pick one “do” from this list and implement it this week or next week. Pick one “don’t” and commit to stopping it.

If You’re Already Feeling the Burnout

Let’s be real, if you’re reading this and thinking, “Yeah, I know I need to do these things, but I’m already exhausted,” you’re not alone. Burnout doesn’t just magically fix itself. It takes intentional recovery, systems that protect your energy, and strategies to rebuild without repeating the same patterns.

That’s exactly what our Healing Burnout course is for. It’s designed for vegan entrepreneurs who are already burnt out and need practical tools to recover, reset, and create a business that doesn’t constantly drain them.

[Check Out Healing Burnout]

Want More Support?

Check out our other online courses for strategies on marketing, content creation, systems, and sustainable growth—all designed to help you work smarter, not harder.

[Explore Our Courses]

And if you want ongoing support and a community of vegan entrepreneurs figuring it out alongside you, join Vegan Mainstream Village (free). You’ll find people at every stage—some thriving, some struggling, all committed to building businesses that work.

[Join Vegan Mainstream Community]

The post The Do’s & Don’ts of Running a Vegan Business in 2026 first appeared on Vegan Mainstream and is written by Vegan Mainstream.

Here’s something I see all the time: wellness professionals who are completely burnt out.

You teach yoga. You coach nutrition clients. You help people manage stress, find balance, and take care of their bodies. And then you look at your own life and realize you haven’t had a real day off in months. You’re answering emails at 10 p.m., skipping meals between sessions, and running on fumes.

The irony is brutal, right?

If this sounds familiar, I get it. And I want you to know it doesn’t have to stay this way. 

Running a wellness business while actually taking care of yourself, too, isn’t impossible. It just requires intention. 

And your clients? Well, they need you to be well, too! 

Before we get into solutions, let’s talk about why this happens in the first place. 

When helping other people is your job, there is this underlying belief that you should always be available, always giving, always thinking about others. And you worry that setting boundaries will cost you clients. You tell yourself you’ll rest after this launch, after the busy season, or after you hit that revenue goal. 

But the moment never comes. Because there is always something else. 

Add to that the fact that many wellness entrepreneurs are solo or small teams–you are the manager, the marketer, the costumes service rep, the accountant… That’s exhausting. 

Here is what I have learned working with wellness professionals: the very traits that make you great at your work– empathy, dedication, a drive to help others– are the same traits that make you vulnerable to burnout. 

Let’s change that. 

5 Ways Wellness Professionals Can Actually Take Care of Themselves

1. Set non-negotiable boundaries (and stick to them)

I know, I know. You heard this before. But hear me out: boundaries aren’t just about saying no to clients and your business partners. They are about protecting the time and energy you need to have a balanced life. 

What this looks like in practice:

• Block off specific hours in your calendar that are for you–not admin work, not “quick tasks”, just rest or personal time
• Set office hours and communicate them clearly to clients
• Turn off all notifications after a certain time (yes, really)
• Don’t book clients back-to-back with no buffer time

The first time you enforce a boundary, it will probably feel uncomfortable. But I promise, your clients will respect it. And the ones who don’t? They are not your people.

2. Schedule your own wellness like you schedule your clients

You wouldn’t cancel on a client because “something came up”, right? So why do we cancel on ourselves?

If workout, meal prep, therapy, or rest matter to you (and they should!), put them in your calendar like appointments. Treat them as non-negotiable. 

What this looks like in practice: 

• Block 30-60 minutes daily for movement (yoga, walks, gym, whatever works for you)
• Schedule your meals. Literally. “Lunch: 12:30-1:00” goes in the calendar.
• Book your own wellness appointments (therapy, massage, acupuncture) weeks in advance so you can’t talk yourself out of them

If it’s on the calendar, it’s real. And you’re worth showing up for.

3. Check in with yourself as often as you check in with your clients

You probably ask your clients regularly: “How are you feeling? What’s working, and what’s not?” But when is the last time you asked yourself those questions?

What this looks like in practice: 

• Weekly check-ins with yourself: What drained me this week? What energized me? What needs to change?
• Monthly reviews: Am I enjoying my work? Do my boundaries need adjusting? Am I still aligned with my values?
• Notice your body’s signals: fatigue, tension, irritability. These are data points, not things to push through

Self-awareness is the first step to self-care. You can’t fix what you don’t acknowledge.

4. You don’t have to do it all alone

One of the fastest ways to burn out is trying to do everything yourself. And no, you don’t need to hire a full team to take things off your plate. You just need a few smart systems. 

What this looks like in practice: 

• Automate scheduling with tools like Calendly or Acuity so you’re not playing email tag
• Use email templates for common client questions
• Batch content creation–write several social posts or emails in one sitting instead of scrambling daily
• Consider a VA (virtual assistant), even for 5-10 hours/month, to handle admin tasks

Systems buy you time. And time buys you the space to actually rest.

5. Let go of the guilt

Easier said than done, I know. But just keep this in mind: taking care of yourself is not selfish. It’s essential. And also strategic. Because when you rest, you show up better for your clients. When you set boundaries, you model healthy behavior for the people around you. When you prioritize your wellness, your business becomes more sustainable. 

What this looks like in practice:

• Reframe rest as part of your business strategy, not a luxury
• Remind yourself: “I can’t serve others well if I’m running on empty”
• Give yourself permission to take a real day off—no emails, no “quick tasks,” just rest

Your clients don’t need a burnt-out version of you. They need you at your 

best. And that only happens when you take care of yourself.

Here’s What I Want You to Know

Running a wellness business doesn’t mean sacrificing your own wellness. It doesn’t mean working yourself into the ground to prove you’re dedicated. It doesn’t mean saying yes to everything and everyone.

You got into this work because you care about people. But you’re people too. And you deserve the same care, attention, and grace you give to your clients.

Start with one thing. Pick one strategy from this list and implement it this week. Set one boundary. Schedule one rest day. Automate one task. Then build from there.

Want to go deeper?

Our Healing Burnout course gives you practical strategies to recover, rebuild your energy, and create a business that doesn’t drain you. Even if you are not sure you are experiencing burnout yet, if you feel exhausted, overwhelmed, or just know something needs to change, this course is for you. 

The post Balancing Your Health and Your Business as a Wellness Entrepreneur first appeared on Vegan Mainstream and is written by Vegan Mainstream.

Starting a vegan business feels like you are doing something that really matters. Because you are combining your passion with your work, building something aligned with your values. And that’s beautiful. But here’s what I’ve learned working with hundreds of vegan entrepreneurs: passion doesn’t automatically translate to profit. And sometimes, the mistakes we make aren’t about lacking drive—they’re about not knowing what we don’t know.

It always bothers me seeing smart, capable vegan business owners hit the same walls over and over again. Especially when, most of the time, these walls are preventable. In this post, I’m sharing the five biggest mistakes I see, and more importantly, how to sidestep them so you can build a business that actually sustains you.

Mistake #1: Building a business around your passion instead of your customers’ problems

So, you are passionate about veganism. You believe in the movement. And you build your entire business around what excites you. Great, but keep in mind one thing: your customers aren’t buying your passion. They need a solution to their problem. 

Maybe you’re a vegan chef who wants to teach people “the beauty of plant-based cooking.” That’s wonderful, but your ideal customer doesn’t care about that. They care that they’re tired of eating the same boring meals. They want to impress their partner with something delicious. They want to feel healthier.

Instead of “I teach vegan cooking because I love it,” it becomes “I help busy parents get dinner on the table without sacrificing nutrition or taste.”

Same business. Different message. And suddenly, people who need you can actually see themselves in what you’re offering.

How to avoid it: Before you launch anything, get clear on the actual problem you’re solving. Talk to potential customers. Ask them what frustrates them, what they wish existed, and what they’ve tried and failed at. Let their answers shape your offering, and then your passion can be a plus. 

Mistake #2: Trying to serve everyone (and ending up serving no one)

I talk to a lot of vegan entrepreneurs, and this is the thing that comes up most: you’re passionate about the work. You believe in it deeply. So you build your entire business message around that passion.

But here’s where it breaks down: your customers don’t buy your passion. They buy a solution to their problem.

Say you’re a vegan cooking instructor. Your passion is “teaching people the joy of plant-based cooking.” That’s beautiful. But your actual customer? She doesn’t care about your passion. She’s frustrated because dinner feels like a chore. She’s tired of serving the same five meals. She wants her partner to stop ordering takeout. She’s worried her kids won’t eat enough vegetables.

Those are the problems she’s actually paying to solve.

Now, instead of “I teach vegan cooking because I love it,” it becomes “I help overwhelmed home cooks get dinner on the table without the stress—and make it actually taste good.”

Same business. Same you. But now people who need what you offer can actually see themselves in it.

How to avoid it: Stop starting with what excites you and start with what frustrates your customers. Talk to five people in your target market this week. Ask them what’s not working. What have they tried and failed at? What would actually solve this for them? Let their answers shape how you talk about your work.

Mistake #3: Undervaluing your work and underpricing your services

Sometimes, vegan entrepreneurs think that because they are trying to help people, their services and products should be accessible. Well, I’ve learned that underpricing your services doesn’t actually help people. Instead, it burns you out, it attracts the wrong customers, and it undermines your credibility. 

When you charge too little, people assume your work is worth too little. When you’re exhausted and resentful because you’re working for poverty wages, you can’t show up powerfully for your clients. When you take on too many clients just to make ends meet, you can’t actually serve them well.

Charging what you’re worth isn’t selfish. It’s sustainable. It’s the only way to build a business that lasts.

How to avoid it: Calculate what you actually need to earn to cover your expenses, pay yourself a reasonable salary, and reinvest in your business. Then add 20-30% for growth and unexpected costs. That’s your baseline. From there, think about your experience, the transformation you provide, and what the market will bear. You might be surprised at what people will pay for real results.

Mistake #4: Being invisible because you don’t want to brag

I know, there is this underlying discomfort with self-promotion. It feels like you are bragging. So instead, you stay quiet and hope your work speaks for itself. 

Spoiler: it doesn’t. 

There are so many incredibly talented people out there, but no one knows about them because they refuse to talk about what they do. Being humble doesn’t mean being silent. Because if you stay silent, your work will stay invisible, and your business will not even have a chance to grow. 

I’ve learned that talking about your work is how you serve people. It’s simple: if no one knows you exist, no one can benefit from what you offer. 

How to avoid it: Shift your relationship with visibility. You’re not bragging about yourself—you’re letting people know a solution exists. You’re giving potential clients permission to find help. You’re showing others what’s possible. Start small if you need to. Share one client win. Post one piece of content. But start somewhere. Your people are waiting to find you.

Mistake #5: Waiting until everything is perfect before you start

A lot of entrepreneurs spend months, even years, preparing to launch their business. They want to perfect their website, create the ideal product, or they are waiting for the right timing. Only, there is no right timing, and you will probably never feel ready. 

Here’s what I know about perfection: it’s the enemy of progress. Your first offering won’t be perfect. Your first launch will have rough edges. Your first clients might find things you didn’t anticipate.

And that’s fine. Because you learn by doing, not by planning and perfecting every detail. 

You think the entrepreneurs who have built real businesses are the ones who had it all figured out before they started? I don’t think so. They’re the ones who started before they were ready, learned from real feedback, and adjusted as they went.

How to avoid it: Set a launch date. Plan what’s truly essential and nothing more. Then launch, and you can refine from there. Experiment, use feedback, and you’ll get more valuable information from one real customer interaction than from learning and planning in isolation. 

Here’s What I Want You to Know

These mistakes aren’t about lacking talent or commitment. The mistake isn’t in who you are—it’s in not knowing what you don’t know yet.

The good news is that knowing about these patterns changes things. You’re already ahead because you can see them coming.

Here’s what I want you to do this week: pick one mistake that’s hitting closest to home for you right now. Maybe it’s that your pricing feels too low. Maybe it’s that your message is too broad. Maybe it’s that you’ve been “almost ready” to launch for months. Pick the one that stings a little.

Then fix it. Not perfectly. Just start moving in the right direction.

One shift at a time is how you build a business that actually works—one that pays you fairly, doesn’t drain you completely, and creates real impact for the people you’re meant to serve.

Ready to Build Your Business the Right Way?

If you’re building a vegan business and want support navigating these challenges, you’re not alone. Join Vegan Mainstream Village, our free community where vegan entrepreneurs share wins, ask questions, and help each other figure it out. You’ll find people at every stage of their journey—from just starting out to scaling significantly—all committed to building businesses that work.

The post The 5 Biggest Mistakes Vegan Entrepreneurs Make (and How to Avoid Them) first appeared on Vegan Mainstream and is written by Vegan Mainstream.

One of the biggest challenges when marketing your vegan brand is figuring out where to put your focus when it comes to your vegan marketing strategy. There are so many marketing options and approaches to explore, and as you get started it’s easy to get overwhelmed. This is partly because when you hear about all the different ways people have grown their vegan businesses it may feel like you have to do ALL OF IT to succeed. 

Here’s some food for thought. While it’s great to have a diverse vegan marketing strategy, too many marketing tricks can wreak havoc in a business. But how do you find that perfect balance? How can you figure out how much diversity you need in your marketing to create success for your business, without going overboard?

Ultimately your vegan marketing strategy should link back to your business goals. But if you’re just getting started with your vegan business you may not yet have gone through the process of setting goals, and I want to give you a place to start. Instead of providing the traditional advice to plan your business goals and then build your marketing strategy, I’m going to share my baseline approach with you today. 

I suggest that you design your vegan marketing strategy around four foundational pillars. These pillars are:

1. Build a community around your vegan brand.
2. Dedicate time to supporting, educating and empowering your community.
3. Find a reliable way to reach your ideal customers and curated groups outside of channels that you own so your community can grow.
4. Develop a system that helps continuously convert prospects into clients/customers.

Why these pillars? 

The pillars of this vegan marketing strategy are anchored in the idea that your marketing should attract a steady and continuous stream of customers. If your digital marketing efforts are based on reactionary tactics, trendy ideas and crisis sales campaigns, your days will be stressful and primarily spent chasing the next big thing. Instead, I encourage my clients to create a core marketing plan that is consistent and smooth. To minimize marketing stress and reduce the feeling of overwhelm you must build stability into your digital marketing. You can do this by building solid relationships with your potential customers and establishing a community that can help shape your business. 

This might sound like theory, but I assure you it’s a practical and hands-on marketing approach. The work that you did yesterday, the work you are doing today, and the work you will do this week and next month should all build upon itself. If it does, running your vegan business will get easier and more streamlined over time. 

What makes marketing “vegan”? 

Just as you veganize a dish, you can veganize your marketing. How? By ensuring that your vegan marketing strategy and practices align with your vegan ethics. Marketing tools are universal, but the difference is in the tone you set. 

A common misconception is that vegan businesses are supported mostly by the vegan community. But as a vegan business owner, you should be including people who are both inside and outside of the vegan community (e.g. young people exploring veganism, new vegan consumers and non-vegans). This means your marketing can’t simply be a reflection of your vegan perspective, but must also incorporate the mindset of your customers. Practically, this translates to making your marketing about more than your product/service. Instead, it should be about the greater good that your product/service represents. 

A few key considerations:

1. Your vegan marketing strategy should focus on the result, experience or transformation that your customer will receive from your product/service since loyalty is grounded in the impact you make on your customer’s life.
2. Many people seek out vegan products that meet their personal needs AND ensure they don’t contribute to concerns like animal cruelty or environmental degradation. As vegans, your customers and clients will obviously require products and services that do not exploit or use animals. However, there is an expectation that vegan brands also lead industry change. If your offer is sustainable, cruelty-free certified or renewable, and/or if it reduces waste or supports underserved communities, these added features should be incorporated into your vegan marketing strategy and approach as they strengthen the ethical grounding of your vegan brand.
3. Sharing your story and how it aligns with the vegan movement is a wonderful, genuine way to connect and build relationships with your customers based on shared interests, values, vision and passion. Everyone has a vegan journey story – be sure to share yours!
4. Test your messaging—especially if a large portion of your market is non-vegan. Market research shows that alternative terms like “plant-based” can be used to reach meat-eaters or non-vegans who might be triggered by terms like “veganism”. If you’re looking to expand your audience, this legwork is well worth the effort.

As a guide, always keep in the forefront of your mind that your digital marketing strategy will be more effective as you increasingly find ways to align your message with the values of your target audience. 

Let’s Talk Vegan Marketing Strategy Channels

So how, and what do you need, to get started? Let’s talk about a few different channels, and how you can use them to build your core marketing approach.

Channel: Speaking/Live Events/ Interviews

Purpose: Reaching ideal customers and curated groups

In order to increase the reach of your business, you are going to have to spend time in someone else’s playground. There’s no doubt that this is one of the most effective ways to meet new customers. You can, of course, use other tools and channels for your vegan marketing strategy to build your community, but it’s important that your marketing approach ensures you are consistently introduced to new audiences. A key piece of this is considering the audiences these efforts put you in front of. Specifically, you want to be extending your reach not just to anyone, but to people who fit your target market.

That’s why three of my favorite ways to increase reach in a business are 1) speaking at virtual summits, 2) getting interviewed on podcasts that your customers listen to, or 3) securing opportunities to speak at live, in-person events. 

And now a caveat. When I mention speaking opportunities some people immediately look for the biggest stage or want to headline with household names. But I want you to really understand the purpose of this suggestion. Speaking engagements should not be just an opportunity to feed your ego, but rather a chance for you to be of service to your audience. As long as you are in front of your target audience, the size of that audience is less important than your ability to deliver a great presentation. When a potential customer’s first, second or third experience with you involves hearing you deliver a presentation that transforms the way they think, or helps them overcome an obstacle, it becomes much easier to inspire them to become a customer. 

Channel: Content Marketing

Purpose: Exhibiting your expertise and educating your audience

To help establish customer confidence in your products and services they must understand why you are different. They must see clearly why they need, or should want, what you are offering. This is where content marketing can be very helpful. Content marketing involves developing a digital marketing channel that allows you to speak directly to your potential customers about who you are, what you do, and how you can help them. In the past many people used blogs to accomplish this. Now it’s more common to do this either through a podcast or video series. 

Many people avoid this approach because they think they have to produce a lot of content to master content marketing to integrate it into their vegan marketing strategy. However, I would argue that success in this arena is more about the quality of your content than the quantity. I advise my clients to post or publish less often if that’s what has to happen to keep quality high—one blog post a month, or two podcasts, for example. If you’re in the early stages of building your business I recommend creating five pieces of content that you think will resonate with your audience. Spend 60 days driving traffic to these five pieces and measure the results. When you have identified a few topics that resonate with your ideal customer, then move to a schedule to produce that type of content more regularly. Remember, that might mean monthly or weekly—more isn’t always better. Also, try different formats (articles, blogs, videos, podcasts) because your audience will include people who learn in different ways. 

Channel: Social Media Marketing

Purpose: Building a community around your vegan business

When it comes to building community for your vegan business, you can’t ignore the power of social media marketing. Not only are social media platforms a place to share what you have to offer, but once you have built an engaged community, they can be tremendous helpers for your business. 

Asking for help from your online community is a great way to keep people engaged and excited about a product/service/business that they love. Don’t limit your ask to spreading the word about your amazing offering—it’s also a great opportunity to turn to your community for feedback when you are looking to improve a product, or when you are launching a new offer. Your vibrant community can help with pricing options, color choices, distribution channels, marketing messaging, or anything you choose to throw out to them. As an added bonus, because social media communities often have a mix of customers, potential customers and raving fans, you can gather insight from people at different stages of the buying process. 

When posting on social media, I recommend a lighter touch like one or two posts per week, at least until you determine what your audience needs and wants. Eventually, your goal will be to drive traffic to your website, but the first objective in your social media marketing approach should always be to build relationships with potential customers.  Posting is important but the real magic happens when you have a chance to interact with your community via tools like live streaming, direct messages or comments. If you want to learn about how to use social media as part of your vegan marketing strategy, please have a look at our free Social Media training.

Other Digital Marketing Strategies:

Once vegan businesses and vegan brands have mastered these core vegan marketing strategies, the next step is considering advanced techniques like influencer marketing, Facebook Ads or search engine optimization.

A sustainable vegan marketing strategy is built from the ground up. It needs a solid foundation, and once that is established other approaches and techniques can act as blocks that build on top of each other. For example, online advertising should only be layered on top of a successful social media marketing campaign, not used as a sole initiative. When you run Instagram ads on content that is already performing well, you can easily amplify results. This is the most effective way to systematically strengthen and improve the marketing for your vegan business..

That’s A Wrap

As you’re getting started marketing your vegan business, remember to stay focused, start small and diversify over time, and do it strategically. Keep track of what you are doing, what works and what doesn’t. It’s a game that constantly changes and evolves, making it challenging and exciting all at the same time. If you keep the four pillar approach I’ve described in mind, and base your efforts around your customer, you will always have a path to follow. This will help you find your way through the noise to a vegan marketing strategy and approach that truly works for your vegan business for the long term.

The post Four Pillars: Building A Sustainable Vegan Marketing Strategy first appeared on Vegan Mainstream and is written by Vegan Mainstream.

Vegan business ideas are popping up everywhere. There is a BUZZ around the vegan movement as an increasing number of people around the globe adopt a plant-based vegan lifestyle. This means the demand for vegan businesses, and opportunities for vegan business owners and entrepreneurs, continue to grow.

When you hear the term “vegan business” you may initially think of businesses that are focused on food options like vegan ice cream, vegan restaurants, vegan catering or vegan bakeries.  However, the vegan movement has room for all kinds of businesses! In today’s article, I want to offer up some vegan business ideas on how you can start a vegan business, even if your skills and talents aren’t grounded in food. 

If you’re looking for a way to save animals, help the environment, and contribute to healthier communities, starting a vegan business of your own may be a great way to accomplish all of those things. There’s no shortage of vegan business ideas to explore, however, the key is finding a business model that can drive sustainable growth. So let’s get started.

Service-Based Businesses:

When someone makes the leap to a vegan lifestyle it’s often not long before they begin to wonder how they can better support the movement and the vegan community. We spend much of our time and passion at work, so it’s not surprising that many people look to their occupations for answers. And it’s a good place to look because there is a big difference to be made in the marketplace.

It doesn’t matter if you’re not in a traditionally “vegan” job. Do you need to quit your career to open a restaurant? No. It’s much more powerful if you take the work that you’re already doing—the work that you (hopefully) love and are great at—and create a viable vegan version of it for your existing or potential new customer base. This is especially applicable for careers based in services that help clients accomplish specific goals. 

Let me give you an example. Imagine for a minute that you are an interior designer.  You might start your transition by offering innovative new services for existing or new customers who are interested in incorporating more sustainable and cruelty-free options. This would allow you to continue doing what you love while ensuring that the furniture, materials and design elements complement your vegan values. Adding this as a new offering (rather than overturning your whole business at once) allows you to transition your career in a sustainable way.

It gives you time to gauge the interest-level of your existing customer base, and expand your customer base to include more vegans, environmentalists and cruelty-free advocates.

A service-based vegan business is ideal for many vegans because of these types of opportunities, which exist across a wide variety of industries. 

Vegan Business Ideas For Service-Based Businesses:

• Accountant: help businesses or individuals balance their financial goals with activism opportunities. Imagine helping a vegan grocery store, food truck, or fashion band.
• Financial advisor: identify funds and business investments that align with clients’ ethics
• Hairdresser: exclusively offer vegan and cruelty-free hair and beauty products
• Writer: develop vegan characters to help promote veganism in a positive light
• Landscaper: reduce/eliminate the use of pesticides; offer natural solutions and products for beautification projects 
• Tattoo artist: use only plant-based inks

Want to hear more business ideas? Watch my recent interview with Vegan Financial Advisors, a Vegan Marketer & a Vegan Puppeteer.

Coaching Businesses:

I’m a strong advocate for coaching businesses because so many of us have valuable knowledge to share, and coaching businesses are fairly easy to launch without a lot of capital. If you’re looking for a way to take your skills, training, and expertise to a whole new level, creating a coaching business is one of the best ways to do it.

Veganizing a service-based business is about adjusting the services and options that are used to deliver a service. But in a coaching business it’s more about exploring how your existing expertise can help people accomplish their goals within an ethical vegan framework. 

Vegan lifestyle coaching businesses are currently a popular option. As new vegans many of us are passionate about helping others discover the information and tools they need to transition successfully, and understand all the implications and intricacies of this amazing lifestyle.  Becoming vegan is a big change for most people, one that can be fraught with pitfalls and obstacles if support is lacking, so coaching can be a great way to help.

Vegan Business Ideas For Coaches:

• Fitness & Exercise Coach
• Career Transition Coach
• Public Speaking Coach
• Relationship Coach
• Wellness Coach
• Nutrition Coach
• Social Media Coach
• Vegan Life Coach

Recently I interviewed a few vegan coaches. If this is a path you are interested in, check these out:

The Vegan Subscription Model:

A great way for businesses to grow and generate consistent revenue is offering a product or service that clients/customers pay for monthly or annually. 

One of the biggest challenges in running a business can be stabilizing the revenue stream. One way to tackle this is developing a successful offering that customers sign up and pay for on an ongoing, regular basis. Knowing that you have a steady income allows you to build your business with more confidence. It goes without saying that people will subscribe and unsubscribe over time. But as you build retention you won’t have to work so hard to attract new customers, and instead much of your marketing can be adjusted to ensure the satisfaction of your existing customers.

This is a very different marketing strategy, and can be much less stressful than having to acquire new customers all the time. Another benefit is that when you work with a subscription model you can start to build a sense of community around your business and brand, which is very valuable.

A subscription model can work whether you sell a product or a service, so it can cover many different types of businesses. This is a particularly good option for people who are creative or crafty because subscription businesses can be built around things made from scratch, or personalized, unique options. In addition, subscription-based businesses don’t have to keep a ton of inventory in stock, but can adjust according to the number of subscribers they have.

Vegan Business Ideas For Subscriptions

• Handmade jewelry: use cruelty-free and sustainably sourced materials 
• Skincare & beauty products: vegan and cruelty-free lotions, cleanses, masks, and more
• Personalized gifts: offer unique clothing designs or artwork with a theme (the subscription could be sold as holiday or birthday gifts)
• Recipe club: monthly veganized recipes with videos, shopping lists and a community to share cooking experiences with
• Curated vegan subscription box: a hand-picked collection of some of your favorite vegan products sourced directly from a vegan manufacturer(s)

Recently, I interviewed a number of vegan business owners who offer subscriptions in their business

There has never been a better time to dip your toe in the world of vegan business, and every passionate vegan can do it! As the examples above illustrate the most important thing is thinking outside the box about how you can participate in this exciting new marketplace. It’s going to take all of us, with all our talents, skills and offerings, to create a better, more compassionate, more sustainable world. What do you have to offer? How can you tweak your work life or business to help move the vegan movement forward?

The post 19 Vegan Business Ideas Beyond Vegan Food first appeared on Vegan Mainstream and is written by Vegan Mainstream.

If you’ve been in the vegan business world for a while (or even if you’ve been vegan for a while), you are likely well aware of the fact that veganism has long suffered a bad rap in mainstream society and media, often being framed as radical or extreme, or just plain weird.

But in the last few years there has been a definite shift, thanks in large part to the growing awareness of the environmental advantages of a vegan diet, and the vegan business world is a huge player in this shift. In both 2018 and 2019 veganism has been named a top consumer trend. All around the world the numbers of people who identify as vegan are growing, and the business world is responding! According to The Vegan Society, the demand for meat-free food increased by 987% in 2017, and this growth has continued through to 2019.

This change in the market provides both challenges and opportunity for vegans looking to start or grow ethical businesses.

Because of the steadily mounting interest in vegan alternatives (especially in the food sector) an increasing number of large companies (like Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms, Cargill and more) are introducing and rapidly expanding plant-based offerings. Most restaurants are offering vegan options, and more businesses are offering vegan alternatives, like vegan clothing and vegan beauty products. As the market opens up, and veganism pushes its way into the mainstream, this presents a challenge for existing vegan businesses: how can small vegan companies stay competitive with the larger companies who are targeting the masses?

But there are a few very important things to remember.

First, the challenges and opportunities of a changing market go hand in hand, and which of these you notice depends very much on how you look at things. The key is to understand that you still retain the competitive edge as a business owned and operated by a vegan. Many customers crave authenticity, so this is the time to start adding storytelling to your marketing practices. Through storytelling you can explain how your ethical values shape the products and services you offer. By providing insight into your business practices, you shift the spotlight from being the “vegan option” to being “the best vegan option” for your customers.

I know at times it can feel like competition is a bad thing but this new reality is a tremendous accomplishment for the movement (including you!) to celebrate. It’s a sign that vegan business is starting to move beyond the trendy label and become an established viable market. This positions the market for greater displacement of non-vegan items and opens the door to more vegan services that will help save the planet and animals. This is a new and rapidly expanding market, and the time is ripe for those wanting to grow their vegan businesses — even small businesses.

Veganism is becoming accepted in the mainstream, creating new niches for all kinds of vegan products and an awareness that veganism is about much more than what we eat.

Another thing to consider is, even if the market is catching up this is still very much a growing trend. There is lots of room for everyone! As ‘vegan’ is becoming a household name and all the reasons for it are working their way into mainstream consciousness, there will be more and more people learning about the importance of ethical businesses — so this is the time to highlight that part of your business.

As we move further along this path your marketing efforts will be able to shift — from basic education of what veganism is to deeper dialogue. The natural pushback that people exhibit when discovering something new might be replaced with the willingness to try. When someone has a niece, co-worker or friend who’s become vegan, they may be more open to what you have to offer. If you don’t have one already this would be a great time to consider incorporating a trial offer, or some way for people to sample your product/service prior to purchase.

Finally, in this age of uncertainty many people are looking for ways to make a difference. As we all know transitioning to a vegan lifestyle is one of the most impactful things you can do for the planet, the animals and your own health. People are ready to hear this message! Use your business to help empower them.

Take Action

If you’ve been harboring a vegan business dream, this is the time to start getting serious about it. Take your chance – the time is right to start taking those first steps to get in on the action of creating a new more ethical world for us all.

The post Why It’s Easier Than Ever To Be A Vegan Business, And Let Your Ethics Shine! first appeared on Vegan Mainstream and is written by Vegan Mainstream.

After working intimately within the vegan business world for more than a decade, I would feel comfortable wagering that the majority of vegan entrepreneurs start their businesses because they want to help make the world a better place.

They see an opportunity for the development of a product or service that will help people to be healthier, that will be easier on the environment, that will create a more equitable world for animals and other people — and often the offering does all three of these things.

This intention is one of the things that makes the vegan business world so amazing. It is full of incredible people who have the best interests of others at heart, as opposed to profit at any cost. As society evolves and vegans are becoming a bigger part of the business world standards are changing for the better.

One of the most empowering and exciting things about operating your own vegan business is the opportunity to establish a new set of norms, rules and industry standards.

Today there is an increasing demand for companies to be more transparent and accountable. Often clients and potential customers want to know more about a company’s origins, whether its employees walk the talk, and the best practices and community involvement of a business.

And this is a good thing for vegan business owners! It creates an opportunity for you to distinguish yourself in a crowded market and allows you to engage in dialogue about what makes your business different.

This is important, because if you really want to be different, you can’t just stop at “my business is vegan.” I want to challenge you today to think deeply about what that really means and how you apply it to your business, beyond the obvious surface-level offering of products or services that don’t exploit animals, other humans or the planet.

How does being vegan actually affect the way you run your business?

Here are some of the things I suggest you consider:

1. Who are you hiring, and how do you do it? What values do you look for in freelancers and more permanent employees? What policies have you put in place around that?
2. What are your policies around customer service? Is it important to you to ensure that every customer feels heard and appreciated? How will you accomplish that?
3. If there is controversy around your business or its purpose, how do you approach it? Do you challenge people directly to think differently or do you try to calm the waters?
4. Who will you partner with or endorse? Do you have clear guidelines around this? Does it include non-vegan companies or individuals — why/why not?
5. How do you source your supplies or choose the vendors you want to work with? Do you only work with other people or companies with an environmentally friendly track record, or what standard do you set?
6. What is your vegan focus? Health, animals or the environment, or all three? Having a clear answer to this in your own heart and mind can help you to make important decisions quickly about the ethical standards for your business.
7. What kind of change-maker are you? Do you lead by disruption or example? Are you ok with being a bit more aggressive, or would you prefer to win people over with a softer approach?

Thinking carefully about each of these issues will help you define your business and your audience more precisely. If you’re just getting started with this it might be helpful to take a look at the About Us pages of some of your favorite businesses to help you formulate your ideas and put them into concrete and actionable language.

I know you have a million things to do in your business, whether you are just starting out, or you’re already in with two feet, so why does this matter so much?

First up, and perhaps most importantly, having your business values clearly defined will keep you out of hot water. When your customers ask questions about your business ethics (and some of them will!) you will be prepared to explain why and how you do what you do.

There’s nothing worse than being asked an important ethical question that you haven’t even considered when you promote yourself as an ethical business.

That’s not to say that everyone will always agree with your values and principles but knowing where you stand is a fair starting point for any discussion.

The next thing is hiring. If you want to run an ethical business and you’re hiring others to join your team, whether they are freelancers or full-time employees, being really clear on your guidelines will be a huge advantage in hiring the right person the first time. Early in the years of Vegan Mainstream, this was a lesson I learned the hard way. Hiring someone who doesn’t share the company’s values can trainwreck projects or even send your business in the wrong direction, and being clear in your own mind will help you be clear and strong with others.

Finally, when you have thought carefully and thoroughly about the ethical stance of your business, you can use your marketing to reflect this, and that makes your marketing more impactful and meaningful. Using your marketing to share your values is a way to help the movement and weave what’s really important to you into your message. T

his often results in greater customer retention because customers connect with your brand — it’s more than just a product or service — it’s a shared value or belief system. Ethical consumers want to support businesses that offer ethical products and services.

So think carefully about what that means for your business, and let that shine through!

Take Action

Grab a pencil and a piece of paper (or your laptop) and brainstorm the seven questions above to get you thinking about how being vegan actually impacts the way you conduct business.

The post Shine Your Ethical Light: Thinking Past “Vegan” In Your Business first appeared on Vegan Mainstream and is written by Vegan Mainstream.